Kuala lumpur: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended lower on Wednesday, driven primarily by profit-taking as the market experienced a loss of momentum, as reported by industry experts. The decline in destination demand and the tight spread between palm oil and soybean oil have pushed demand towards soybean oil, further impacting CPO futures.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Anilkumar Bagani, the commodity research head at Mumbai-based Sunvin Group, noted that the increase in stocks is attributed to a slight decrease in production coupled with a further drop in exports. Bagani highlighted that the market is anticipating the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's August 2026 report, which is expected to show Malaysian palm oil stocks rising to between 2.73 million and 2.78 million tonnes by the end of August, representing a 4-6% increase from July 2026.
Bagani also commented on the potential rise in the Indonesian palm oil reference price for October, which could lead to higher export duties and net payable levies, creating a positive outlook for Malaysian palm oil prices. On the other hand, David Ng, a proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, mentioned that stronger energy prices are mitigating the downward pressure on CPO futures. He identified support for prices above RM4,900 per tonne and resistance at RM5,080 per tonne.
At the market close, the September 2026 and October 2026 contracts experienced a decrease of RM19 each, settling at RM4,669 and RM4,787 per tonne, respectively. The November 2026 contract dropped by RM10 to RM4,966 per tonne, while the December 2026 contract decreased by RM6 to RM5,109 per tonne. The January 2027 and February 2027 contracts also saw declines, closing at RM5,220 and RM5,300 per tonne, respectively.
The trading volume experienced a significant increase, rising to 337,207 lots from 120,701 lots on the previous day, and open interest also grew to 797,610 contracts from 336,966 contracts. The physical CPO price for September South decreased by RM20 to RM4,680 per tonne.