KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower for the fifth consecutive day, said palm oil trader David Ng.

He said the weaker soybean oil market and lower crude oil prices continue to pile pressure on prices.

“We see support at RM3,900 a tonne and resistance at RM4,100 a tonne,” Ng told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based Sunvin Group commodity research head Anilkumar Bagani said local research houses are estimating a further reduction in Malaysian palm oil inventories.

He said Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd estimated that at the end of April, palm oil stocks are expected to reduce by 6% to 1.61 million tonnes from 1.71 million tonnes, with a 5% increase in production to 1.46 million tonnes from 1.39 million tonnes and almost unchanged exports at 1.32 million tonnes.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd expects a bigger drop of 13% in stocks to 1.49 million tonnes, with an increase of 8% in exports to 1.42 million tonnes, and production is estimated to improve by 5%.

At the close, the spot month May 2024 contract slid RM34 to RM4,125 a tonne, June 2024 shed RM32 to RM4,039, and July 2024 lost RM28 to RM3,984.

The August 2024 note narrowed by RM27 to RM3,933 a tonne, September 2024 was lower by RM33 to RM3,895 a tonne, while October 2024 dropped RM33 to RM3,880 a tonne.

Total volume dropped to 77,559 lots from Wednesday’s 122,575 lots, while open interest decreased to 266,188 contracts from 271,380 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for May South slipped by RM150 to RM4,200 a tonne.