Kuala Lumpur:Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Friday, affected by concerns over rising domestic inventories.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market was also influenced by sluggish export demand. September shipments showed a notable decline compared to the previous month, with cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) estimating Malaysia's palm oil exports at about 1.13 million tonnes, marking a 17.1 percent drop month-on-month.

David Ng, a proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, noted that the decrease in exports reinforces worries that weaker overseas demand could lead to higher stock levels domestically. Sentiment was also impacted by softer soybean oil prices, which exerted additional pressure on the broader vegetable oils market.

At the close of trading, the October 2026 contract decreased RM20 to RM4,354 per tonne, while November 2026 and December 2026 contracts fell RM20 and RM19 to RM4,441 and RM4,535 per tonne, respectively. The January 2027 contract dropped RM25 to RM4,627 per tonne, February 2027 decreased RM36 to RM4,709, and March 2027 lost RM48 to RM4,786.

Trading volume increased to 164,637 lots from 106,630 on Thursday, but open interest declined to 334,658 contracts from 341,306 previously. The physical CPO price for October South also fell RM100 to RM4,400 per tonne.