CPO Futures Close Lower On Inventory, Export Concerns

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Friday, as concerns over rising domestic inventories continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Iceberg X Sdn Bhd proprietary trader David Ng said the weaker performance was also linked to sluggish export demand, with September shipments showing a notable decline from the previous month.

Ng said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) estimated Malaysia’s palm oil exports at about 1.13 million tonnes in September, a 17.1 per cent month-on-month drop.

“This reinforces concerns that weaker overseas demand could contribute to higher stock levels at home. Sentiment was further dampened by softer soybean oil prices, which added pressure to the broader vegetable oils market,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the October 2026 contract eased RM20 to RM4,354 per tonne, while November 2026 declined RM20 to RM4,441 and December 2026 fell RM19 to RM4,535.

The January 2027 contract slid RM25 to RM4,627 per tonne, February 2027 declined RM36 to RM4,709, and March 2027 lost RM48 to RM4,786.

Trading volume rose to 164,637 lots from 106,630 on Thursday, while open interest fell to 334,658 contracts from 341,306 previously.

The physical CPO price for October South slid RM100 to RM4,400 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA