Kuala Lumpur:Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives continued their upward trend, closing higher for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. This increase was driven by stronger export demand for October and firmer energy prices.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, David Ng, a proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, noted that the rise in energy prices has positively influenced palm oil market sentiment, although the gains were somewhat limited by record-high domestic inventories. CPO's role as a biodiesel feedstock means that higher energy prices can boost biodiesel demand, subsequently supporting CPO demand.

Cargo surveyor Amspec Agri Malaysia reported a significant 37.73% increase in Malaysia's palm oil exports, from 357,194 tonnes in early September to 491,954 tonnes in the first ten days of October. Similarly, Intertek Testing Services noted a 33.51% increase in exports for the same period, rising from 393,295 tonnes to 525,071 tonnes.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board disclosed that the country's total palm oil stocks had risen by 24.54% to 3.51 million tonnes in September, up from 2.82 million tonnes in the previous month.

In terms of futures contracts, the October 2026 contract increased by RM29 to RM4,427 per tonne, and the November 2026 contract by RM1 to RM4,560 per tonne. The December 2026 contract saw an RM18 rise to RM4,700 per tonne. Contracts for January, February, and March 2027 also saw gains, with respective increases of RM23, RM25, and RM18 per tonne.

Trading volume escalated to 124,058 lots compared to 109,117 lots on Tuesday, and open interest expanded to 335,045 contracts from 331,818. The physical CPO price for October South rose by RM30 to RM4,500 per tonne.