PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA — Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged slightly lower on Friday (December 12, 2025), pressured by declining prices of rival vegetable oils on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange and weaker Malaysian export performance in early December. The move also put the market on track for a weekly decline after two consecutive weeks of gains.
According to Reuters, the benchmark CPO futures contract for February 2026 delivery slipped by RM 4 per metric ton, or 0.1%, to RM 4,059 per ton—equivalent to about USD 989.52—during afternoon trading. Over the week, the contract has fallen 2.41%.
Global vegetable oil markets added to the pressure. On the Dalian exchange, the most-active soybean oil contract eased 0.1%, while palm oil futures dropped a steeper 0.85%. In contrast, soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) posted a modest 0.1% gain, highlighting mixed sentiment across major markets.
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On the fundamentals side, softer export data further weighed on prices. AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported that shipments of Malaysian palm oil products during December 1–10 declined 10.3% from the previous month. Intertek Testing Services recorded an even sharper drop of 15% over the same period.
Market participants are now closely monitoring export demand trends and global vegetable oil price movements to gauge the next direction for CPO prices, particularly toward year-end when market volatility typically increases. (P3)
