KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 -- The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to trade with upward bias next week on concerns over slowing output during the peak season, said palm oil trader David Ng.

He said the weaker than expected output amid the peak production period has caused anxiety among market participants while higher demand from India and China due to restocking activities would continue to boost exports.

“Hence, the CPO futures contract will likely trade between RM4,300 and RM4,480 per tonne," he told Bernama.

For the week just ended, Malaysian CPO futures ended mostly higher on concerns over lower stocks and weaker output in the coming weeks.

On a weekly basis, August 2021 rose RM114 to RM4,656 per tonne, September 2021 firmed RM130 to RM4,547 per tonne, October 2021 added RM98 to RM4,369 per tonne, November 2021 gained RM76 to RM4,230 per tonne, December 2021 increased RM63 to RM4,133 per tonne and January 2022 went up RM54 to RM4,062 per tonne.

Weekly volume rose to 288,074 from 247,352 lots in the previous trading week, while open interest climbed to 251,276 contracts versus 247,352 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for July South advanced RM140 to RM4,560 a tonne on Friday.

-- BERNAMA