KUALA LUMPUR: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives swung between positive and negative territory yesterday but ended lower on mounting concerns over weaker exports amid recently high prices which deter short-term demand.
Speaking to Bernama, palm oil trader David Ng said investors also adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of August export data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board due tomorrow.
“Fears of the Covid-19 Delta variant triggered fresh concern over weaker demand for palm oil moving forward,” he said, adding that the support level was spotted at RM4,100 and resistance level at RM4,350 a tonne.
At the close, CPO futures contract for August 2021 decreased RM67 to RM4,453 per tonne, September 2021 fell RM73 to RM4,347 per tonne, October 2021 slipped RM74 to RM4,200 per tonne, November 2021 went down RM61 to RM4,095 per tonne, December 2021 declined RM45 to RM4,030 per tonne, and January 2022 dipped RM45 to RM3,968 per tonne.
Total volume slid to 49,249 lots from last Friday’s 52,958 lots, while open interest fell to 243,950 contracts from 249,744 contracts previously.
The physical CPO price for August South lost RM70 to RM4,530 per tonne.
Meanwhile, India will be spending more than US$1.4bil (RM5.91bil) on growing its edible oil production as the country seeks to cut its reliance on imports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday the amount would be invested “in the cooking oil ecosystem” through a national scheme that aims to expand oilseed farming and oil palm plantations.
The government “will ensure that farmers get all the facilities, from quality seeds to technology”, he said.
Modi said as a major exporter of agricultural commodities, it was important for India to become self-reliant in edible oil, noting that palm oil’s share in vegetable oil imports was more than 55%.
India imported 13.35 million tonnes of edible oil during its fiscal year 2020-21 while its total consumption was 25.82 million tonnes, according to government data. — Bernama