KUALA LUMPUR: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher today, tracking the performance of the soybean oil market on the Chicago Board of Trade, a dealer said.
CPO prices received a boost following news that prospects looked positive for Malaysian palm oil exports in the second half of this year.
“Minister Teresa Kok said the government is set to woo more buyers from China during her upcoming visit to the country this month and this has boosted positive buying momentum.
"However, some investors are still cautious, ahead of the release of production and stocks data by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board later this week.
“We estimate CPO inventories to likely rise 12 per cent to 2.5 million tonnes as at end-July,” he said, adding that higher inventories would pressure prices downwards which would actually be appealing for the export of the edible oil.
August 2018 and October 2018 rose RM10 each to RM2,180 a tonne and RM2,206 per tonne, respectively, while September 2018 gained RM13 to RM2,191 and November 2018 added RM12 to RM2,236.
Turnover improved to 31,538 lots from 28,412 lots last Friday while open interest advanced to 298,609 contracts from 252,074 contracts, previously . On the physical market, August South added RM20 to RM2,210 a tonne.