KUALA LUMPUR: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher Friday on stronger soybean oil prices as well as ongoing concern over lower production.
Palm oil trader David Ng said anticipation of lower stockpiles in the country also supported the prices of the golden commodity.
"We see support at RM3,600 a tonne and resistance at RM3,750 a tonne," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said CPO futures were seen trading higher on day on bargain buying based short covering, following some bullish momentum in Chinese vegetable oil futures and steadying soft oil markets.
"The confirmation of double-digit production losses in December 2023 by UOB Kay Hian data and the expectations of a rise in Malaysian palm oil exports for the Jan 1-5 period has also injected some bullish sentiments in palm oil this morning.
"UOB Kay Hian estimated Malaysian palm oil production in December 2023 to be down by 10-14% , while Southern Peninsular Palm Oil Millers Association data shows that palm oil production decreased in December 2023 by 12.32% from November 2023," he said.
The market is now waiting for the full-month production estimates by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association.
At the close, the spot month January 2024 added RM6 to RM3,690 a tonne, February 2024 gained RM22 to RM3,675 a tonne, March 2024 rose RM25 to RM3,682 a tonne, April 2024 contracts went up RM23 to RM3,671 a tonne, May 2024 edged up RM20 to RM3,649 a tonne and June 2024 rose RM14 to RM3,615 a tonne.
Total volume improved to 58,390 lots from 43,055 lots on Thursday, and open interest decreased to 212,004 contracts from 214,362 previously.
The physical CPO price for January South remained unchanged at RM3,700 per tonne.