Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to be in rangebound trading next week with less trading activities following the recent data released by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), dealers said.

During the week, the MPOB reported lower-than-expected stock data, disclosing that the total Malaysia’s palm oil stocks edged down 2.02 per cent to 1.934 million tonnes in November 2009 compared to 1.974 million tonnes the previous month.

Earlier, the market was expecting Malaysian palm oil stocks to hit a high of two million tonnes in November.

Head of Inter-Pacific Research Anthony Dass said the CPO prices are expected to trade around RM2,400 to RM2,466 per tonne in view of holiday season next week.

“We continue to hold our view that average CPO price will be around RM2,500 to RM2,600 per tonne on the basis that crude oil price would average at US$72 to US$75,” he said.

On a weekly basis, CPO futures for the December 2009 contract dropped RM49 to RM2,441 per tonne and January 2010 went down RM56 to RM2,494, February 2010 declined RM32 to RM2,530 and March 2010 fell RM20 to RM2,537 per tonne.

The week’s turnover stood at 82,480 lots, up from 77,963 lots last week.

On the physical market, December South declined by RM40 to RM2,460 per tonne from RM2,500 per tonne a week earlier. — Bernama

Source: Business Times