Malaysia: Palm oil stocks likely to stay elevated

higher restocking activities (ahead of Deepavali) will likely be weighed down by the seasonally higher cropping trend and crude palm oil’s (CPO) weakened price competitiveness against soybean oil. The research house noted that year-to-date (y-t-d) CPO prices averaged at RM4,344 per tonne, with assumptions of RM4,200 per tonne in 2025 and RM4,050 per tonne in 2026. HLIB Research said: “We believe CPO prices will remain subdued in the third quarter of financial year 2025, before turning more upbeat towards end-2025.” It maintained its “neutral” stance, naming Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) and SD Guthrie Bhd as top picks. Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) pointed out that as palm oil output is likely to stay elevated the next one to two months, CPO price will remain under short-term price pressure. “We believe this will ensure price stays competitive to help stimulate demand as present exports estimates for first 10 days of September remain uninspiring,” said Maybank IB. ...