KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher on Thursday amid a weaker production outlook in Malaysia, a trader said.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, palm oil trader David Ng noted that the stronger expected demand for palm oil, with Indonesia looking to increase its biofuel mandate, also lifted market sentiment. Ng mentioned that market sentiment was further influenced by higher soybean oil prices, establishing support at RM4,900 per tonne and resistance at RM5,050 per tonne.

Fastmarket Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa commented that CPO futures closed higher after a volatile trading session driven by a mix of profit-taking and buying momentum. He stated that lower production estimates, a higher performance of related vegetable oils, and expectations of rising palm oil demand in the biodiesel segment supported the higher market, albeit with sporadic profit-taking activities.

Varqa highlighted that the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) data rel
eased after the mid-day session showed that October production remained unchanged from September. This was due to a significant fall in output from Peninsular Malaysia, which offset the growth from the state of Sabah.

Meanwhile, Anilkumar Bagani, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head, observed that CPO prices have moved beyond RM5,000 per tonne for the first time since June 2022. At the close, spot months November 2024 and December 2024 rose RM39 each to RM5,038 and RM4,996 per tonne, respectively, while January 2025 advanced by RM35 to RM4,952 per tonne. February 2025 increased by RM35 to RM4,897 per tonne, March 2025 added RM27 to RM4,804 per tonne, and April 2025 was RM13 higher at RM4,690 per tonne.

Trading volume surged to 104,193 lots from 78,859 on Wednesday, with open interest rising to 245,610 contracts from 243,835 previously. The physical CPO price for November South soared RM50 to RM5,070 per tonne.