PALMOILMAGAZINE, KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) futures closed higher on Wednesday (28 January 2026), tracking gains in global soybean oil markets and drawing additional support from stronger crude oil prices.
According to a report by Bernama, market participants said movements in the crude oil market have provided an important boost to palm oil, particularly as energy and biofuel prospects continue to improve. David Ng, a proprietary trader at Iceberg X Sdn Bhd, noted that palm oil prices remain in a relatively solid technical range.
“We see CPO finding support above RM4,180 per tonne, with resistance around RM4,300 per tonne,” he said.
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Despite the gains, the market has started to adopt a more cautious tone after a sharp rally since last week. Sathia Varqa, Senior Analyst at Fastmarkets Palm Oil Analytics, said profit-taking activity has begun to emerge.
“Selling pressure linked to profit-taking has been visible since Friday. In addition, the continued strengthening of the ringgit has also capped further upside,” she explained.
At the close, the February 2026 contract rose RM16 to RM4,198 per tonne. The March 2026 contract gained RM13 to RM4,256 per tonne, while April 2026 added RM12 to RM4,272 per tonne.
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The May 2026 contract advanced RM14 to RM4,266 per tonne. Meanwhile, June 2026 increased RM16 to RM4,248 per tonne, and July 2026 climbed RM12 to RM4,223 per tonne.
Trading activity eased notably, with volume falling to 73,426 lots from 120,825 lots in the previous session. Open interest also slipped to 216,758 contracts from 218,306 contracts, indicating that some traders have started to trim open positions.
In the physical market, southern Malaysian CPO for February delivery rose RM10 to RM4,210 per tonne, suggesting that physical demand remains relatively resilient, even as caution builds in the futures market.
Overall, palm oil prices continue to draw support from global vegetable oil and energy markets. However, further direction is expected to be heavily influenced by currency movements, soybean oil trends, and developments in crude oil prices. (P3)
