KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contracts on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives market ended higher as stronger soybean oil and crude oil prices continued to lift sentiment, said palm oil trader David Ng.

At the same time, the expectation of higher palm oil exports to China aided the higher CPO price, he said. 

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof’s visit to China from Nov 12 to Nov 19 resulted in the country’s commitment to increase palm oil imports to 3.4 million tonnes next year, up from the estimated 3.14 million tonnes so far.

China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the past 14 years.

“CPO will find support at the RM3,850 level and resistance at RM4,100,” Ng said.

At the close, contracts for December 2023 decreased by RM6 to RM3,803 per tonne, and January 2024 fell by RM1 to RM3,890 per tonne.

Meanwhile, February 2024 went up by RM3 to RM3,934 per tonne, March 2024 rose by RM10 to RM3,958 per tonne, April 2024 improved by RM10 to RM3,955 per tonne, and May 2024 added RM12 to RM3,939 per tonne.

Total volume declined to 46,966 lots from last Friday’s close of 59,576 lots, while open interest dropped to 208,147 contracts from 210,160 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for December South stood at RM3,820 per tonne.

-- BERNAMA