Kuala Lumpur: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is anticipated to experience quiet trading in the upcoming week, primarily due to the Chinese New Year celebrations. According to Interband Group of Companies’ senior palm oil trader, Jim Teh, many traders are expected to be on holiday, resulting in a price range focused on profit-taking, generally between RM3,700 and RM4,000.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, physical demand for CPO is expected from regions including India, Pakistan, the Middle East, the European Union, and the United States, with no anticipated shortage of palm oil next week. Palm oil trader David Ng also predicted that the CPO market would trade sideways due to the shorter trading week and lack of market cues, with prices expected to fluctuate between RM4,100 per tonne and RM4,280 per tonne.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, fluctuations were observed in various CPO contracts. The February 2025 spot-month contract rose by RM47 to RM4,488 per tonne, while the March 2025 contract increased by RM70 to RM4,350 per tonne, and the April 2025 contract climbed by RM26 to RM4,216 per tonne. Conversely, the May 2025 contract dropped by RM12 to RM4,110 per tonne, the June 2025 contract slid RM36 to RM4,052 per tonne, and the July 2025 contract declined by RM45 to RM4,025 per tonne.

The weekly trading volume decreased to 383,178 lots from the previous week’s 445,885 lots. Additionally, open interest fell to 222,762 contracts on Friday, compared to 223,575 contracts a week earlier. The physical CPO price for February South decreased by RM100 to RM4,550 per tonne.