KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 – Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade higher next week due to expected weak production.
Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said CPO typically registers weaker production in February due to festivities like the Lunar New Year and a shorter working month, with lower harvesting and transportation activities.
“We expect prices to trade between RM4,000 and RM4,130 per tonne next week,” he told Bernama.
Malaysia’s palm oil production for the Feb 1-20 period is expected to decline by 12.29 per cent by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, while UOB Kay Hian has projected a 12-16 per cent drop versus the Jan -20 period.
Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh has a differing view. He said CPO futures will be bearish next week because of Malaysia and Indonesia’s high stock position, and is expected to trade in the RM3,850-RM3,900 range, he said.
Bearish prices will also help clear Malaysia’a CPO inventories, he said.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the March 2026 contract declined RM74 to RM3,989 per tonne, April 2026 slipped RM57 to RM4,030, and May 2026 shrank by RM50 to RM4,042.
The June 2026 contract decreased RM50 to RM4,046 per tonne, July 2026 lost RM57 to RM4,043, and August 2026 was down RM61 to RM4,038.
The weekly trading volume rose to 313,593 lots from 194,724 last week, while open interest contracted to 227,706 contracts from 228,011 previously.
The physical CPO price for March South decreased by RM50 to RM4,050 a tonne.
