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Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (“BMD”) continued its string of records when the total trading volume for Crude Palm Oil Futures contract (“FCPO”) recorded a new historical all-time high volume of 12.0 million lots, surpassing the previous record of 11.91 million lots achieved in 2017. On a year-to-date basis, this represented a 41% increase from 8.49 million lots registered between January to October 2019.
As of today, 300 million MT Crude Palm Oil was traded via the Exchange, which is approximately 20 times of Malaysia production as at September 2020.
The increase in volume was primarily due to the greater use of FCPO as a hedging tool against the price volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his welcome address at the opening of the Virtual Palm & Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition 2020 (“vPOC 2020”), Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Berhad said, “Price volatility is no stranger to the market, yet this pandemic outbreak has shaken the commodities sector.”
“Nonetheless, BMD remains committed to strengthening the palm complex suite to cater to the demand of market participants and provide a reliable hedging and arbitrage instrument against price volatility in the palm oil industry.”
The 2-day event, which is being held virtually for the first time in 31 years is one of the largest and most respected global palm oil price outlook events. vPOC 2020 registered close to 2,400 attendees at the opening session today. Over the years, it has facilitated the exchange of ideas on the developments that impact the price outlook on the palm and lauric oils markets.
The Virtual POC2020 is taking place from 27 – 28 October 2020. Members of the public may visit www.pocmalaysia.com to register and get complimentary access to the event.
