Palm oil prices to improve on the back of strong export performance
13/10/2024 (New Straits Times), KUALA LUMPUR - The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade with a positive bias next week on the back of strong export performance, a trader said.
Palm oil trader David Ng said the expectation of stronger exports in the coming weeks is likely to result in lower overall stocks in the country, which would be beneficial for prices.
"We expect prices to be in the RM4,230-RM4,450 range next week," he told Bernama.
He said Malaysian palm oil export estimates for October, expected to be released by cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Amspec, would be among the focuses next week.
Meanwhile, Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said the CPO market would see profit-taking next week with prices ranging from RM3,800-RM3,900 a tonne after the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) latest data release, which reported a higher stock level in the country in September.
"The CPO price is too high, which may cause the prices of food to increase.
"Physical demand for CPO, as usual, will come from India, China, Pakistan, the Middle Eastern countries, the United States and Europe," he said.
For the trading week just ended, CPO futures were mostly lower due to MPOB's data as well as the influence of declining crude oil and soybean oil prices.
On Thursday, MPOB said palm oil exports in September 2024 edged up 0.93 per cent to 1.54 million tonnes from 1.53 million tonnes in August 2024, while total palm oil stocks climbed 6.93 per cent to 2.01 million tonnes from 1.88 million tonnes in the preceding month.
In contrast, CPO production dropped 3.8 per cent, or 71,926 tonnes, to 1.82 million tonnes in the month under review from 1.89 million tonnes in August.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the spot month October 2024 futures surged by RM124 to RM4,283 a tonne, November 2024 rose RM289 to RM4,385, December 2024 gained RM299 to RM4,350, January 2025 increased by RM301 to RM4,315, February 2025 advanced RM299 to RM4,278, and March 2025 climbed RM295 to RM4,240.
Total weekly volume improved to 470,718 lots from 437,710 in the preceding week, while open interest edged up to 252,079 contracts from 251,725 previously.
The physical CPO price for October South increased RM60 to RM4,480 on Friday from RM4,420 a week earlier.