By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed mixed today as traders locked in profits ahead of the weekend and the release of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) July supply and demand report on August 10.
Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics’ senior analyst, Sathia Varqa, told BERNAMA that selling pressure throughout the session has erased a brief wave of buying interest, weighing on most contracts towards the end of trading.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Association estimated that Malaysian palm oil production for the period of July 1-31 increased by 7.54 per cent, consistent with UOB Kay Hian’s estimate of an average increase of eight per cent from June.
Bloomberg and London Stock Exchange Group surveys also showed that Malaysia’s palm oil stocks at the end of July are expected to increase to between 2.61 million and 2.62 million tonnes, up from 2.54 million tonnes in June.
Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group’S head of research, Anilkumar Bagani, said CPO futures were trading lower due to expectations of higher palm oil stocks in Malaysia and weak forward sales.
At the close, the November 2026 contract edged up RM2 to RM4,735 per tonne, December 2026 gained RM10 to RM4,785 per tonne, and the January 2027 contract added RM14 to RM4,829 per tonne.
The August 2026 contract fell RM7 to RM4,527 per tonne, the September 2026 contract eased RM19 to RM4,606 per tonne, and the October 2026 contract slipped RM9 to RM4,677 per tonne.
Trading volume increased to 112,427 lots from 85,066 lots on Thursday (Aug. 6), while open interest climbed to 314,839 contracts from 312,050 contracts previously.
The physical CPO price for August South remained unchanged at RM4,540 per tonne. – BERNAMA
