KUALA LUMPUR: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to trade lower next week on profit-taking as market players await the outcome of the international palm oil conference.
Interband group of companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh said investors and traders will look forward to getting clues and cues from experts on their opinions for the palm oil prices and the market outlook.
"By this time, the market has been on selling activities by speculators as prices are on the rise.
"Besides, there are plenty of stocks in Malaysia and Indonesia. We expect price range for next week to be around RM3,500 a tonne to RM3,700 a tonne,” he told Bernama.
The 35th Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition (POC2024) will be held from March 4-6, 2024.
Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng said although the market is expected to move lower next week, losses would likely be capped by the prospect of weaker output and a lower stock level.
"We see price support level at RM3,900 per tonne and resistance at RM4,050 per tonne,” said Ng.
For the week just ended, CPO futures were traded mostly higher on lower output concerns.
On a weekly basis, spot month March 2024 contract rose RM55 to RM4,024 a tonne, April 2024 added RM112 to RM4,016 a tonne, and May 2024 surged RM113 to RM3,966 a tonne.
June 2024 gained RM102 to RM3,896 a tonne, July 2024 perked up RM88 to RM3,824 per tonne, and August 2024 was RM80 firmer to RM3,769.
The total weekly volume reduced to 295,234 lots from 318,995 lots in the previous week, while open interest widened to 257,308 contracts from 234,976 contracts previously.
The physical CPO price for March South stood at RM4,070 per tonne, up RM50 from RM4,020 per tonne last week. - Bernama
