KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed higher on the first trading day of the new year, hitting its highest level since February 2011 with benchmark March 2021 at RM3,724 per tonne.

Palm oil trader David Ng said the CPO performance was the highest in almost 10 years owing to strong performance in the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

He said the prospect of lower production continued to drive prices higher due to recent floods during this monsoon season.

Since January 1, several areas ini Johor and Pahang were hit by floods following continuous rainfall.

"It will affect the production in the country since Pahang and Johor contribute roughly 30 per cent of the country’s total production.

"Thus, it will likely affect January production and may overlap into February as well,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the CPO futures contract for January 2021 jumped RM59 to RM3,950 per tonne, February 2021 was RM107 higher at RM3,871 per tonne, March 2021 increased RM124 to RM3,724 per tonne, and April 2021 added RM117 to RM3,590 per tonne.

Total volume strengthened to 55,390 lots from 33,179 lots on Thursday, while open interest gained 218,079 contracts from 196,440 contracts previously.

The physical CPO price for January South added RM90 to RM3,960 per tonne. — Bernama