Kuala lumpur: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended a two-day gain to close lower on Thursday, as profit-taking activities weighed on market sentiment, said a dealer.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics senior analyst Sathia Varqa stated that weaker palm oil exports continue to disrupt the market’s rising momentum. He mentioned that CPO prices could see a wave of higher prices in the first quarter of 2026. During the seasonally low palm oil production period, CPO is expected to trade between RM4,500 and RM4,600 per tonne. Sathia also highlighted that Malaysia’s annual palm oil production is generally stagnant, leaving Indonesia to contribute to the global increase.

Global palm oil production is expected to reach 83.22 million tonnes in 2025-26 from 80.39 million tonnes, marking a growth of 2.83 million tonnes. Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng noted that softer soybean oil prices, with the expectation of weaker demand in the coming weeks, further dented market sentiment. He stated that there is support at RM4,100 per tonne and resistance at RM4,280 per tonne.

At the close, the December 2025 and May 2026 contracts fell by RM66 to RM4,112 and RM4,174 per tonne, respectively, while January and February 2026 edged down by RM71 to RM4,139 and RM4,155 per tonne, respectively. March 2026 declined by RM70 to RM4,170 per tonne, and April 2026 slipped by RM68 to RM4,177 per tonne. Total volume contracted to 70,608 lots from 83,103 lots on Wednesday, while open interest increased to 278,925 contracts from 274,629 contracts previously. The physical CPO price for December South narrowed by RM40 to RM4,150 per tonne.