Kuala Lumpur: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) ended lower for the third consecutive day, aligning with the decline in soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Palm oil trader David Ng highlighted that concerns over rising output in the upcoming weeks have also contributed to the decrease in prices of the golden crop. “We see support at RM3,950 per tonne and resistance at RM4,200 per tonne,” he told Bernama.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, despite a bullish recovery in CBOT soybean oil futures overnight and strong Malaysian palm oil export performance in the first half of April, CPO futures opened lower this morning. This drop followed losses in CBOT soybean oil futures and the Dalian Commodity Exchange during Asian trading hours. Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani noted that the macroeconomic picture remains unstable, with a stronger South American soybean harvest limiting recovery attempts in the palm oil market.
Anilkumar also mentioned that cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) estimates Malaysian palm oil export for the April 1-15 period at 491,984 tonnes, marking a 16.95% increase. Similarly, AmSpec estimates exports at 450,657 tonnes, up 13.55% from their respective estimates for the March 1-15 period. The market is now anticipating the first half of April production estimates from SPPOMA.
Additionally, Malaysia has set the palm oil reference price for May 2025 at RM4,449.35 per tonne, down from RM4,547.79 per tonne in April 2025. The export tax for May 2025 is expected to be 10%, equating to RM444.94 per tonne compared to RM454.78 per tonne in April 2025.
At the close of trading, the May 2025 contract declined RM23 to RM4,207 per tonne. Other contract declines included June 2025, which decreased RM24 to RM4,084 per tonne; July 2025, which slid RM28 to RM4,015 per tonne; August 2025, down RM22 to RM3,986 per tonne; September 2025, which lost RM14 to RM3,972 per tonne; and October 2025, reduced by RM6 to RM3,974 per tonne.
The trading volume weakened to 94,914 lots from 104,470 lots the previous day, while open interest narrowed to 241,905 contracts from 247,195 previously. The physical CPO price for April South fell RM100 to RM4,300 per tonne.