Malaysian Palm Oil Falls on 5 November; Reuters and Bernama Differ

Jakarta — Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) futures for January 2027 delivery fell again on Thursday, 5 November 2026. Reuters reported a close of MYR 4,375 a tonne, the lowest since 6 March, while Bernama reported MYR 4,377 for the same delivery month. The MYR 2 discrepancy matters when readers use the closing price as a reference for the Indonesian market.

Two closing reports, the same downward direction

Reuters, carried by Business Recorder, put the January benchmark contract down MYR 121, or 2.69%, at MYR 4,375 a tonne. Bernama reported a MYR 119 decline to MYR 4,377. Both describe a weaker market but do not agree on the precise closing figure. Media Biodiesel presents the figures separately rather than turning them into a falsely certain single price; anyone using the price for a transaction should check the exchange record and data timestamp.

Bernama also listed the November 2026 contract at MYR 4,126, December at MYR 4,279 and February 2027 at MYR 4,462 a tonne. These are distinct delivery months. Its physical November South CPO price of MYR 4,220 a tonne refers to a physical-market quotation, not the January futures settlement.

Thursday's fall followed the Wednesday slide already covered by Media Biodiesel. The new development is the 5 November close and the mismatch between the two reports, not an official Malaysian stocks announcement. Estimates circulating ahead of the next release must not be presented as observed inventories.

October inventories remain estimates

Reuters said a survey projected Malaysian palm oil inventories at about 3.75 million tonnes at the end of October, up 6.8% from September's record 3.51 million tonnes. The 3.75-million-tonne figure is a survey estimate, not the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) final count. Reuters and Bernama said MPOB was expected to issue its October supply-and-demand report on 10 November.

Bernama quoted Iceberg X trader David Ng as linking market pressure to concerns about high stocks and weaker Chicago soybean oil. Reuters also noted falls in Dalian soyoil and palm oil contracts. Vegetable oils compete in import markets, but concurrent price moves do not establish a single cause for the CPO decline.

Reuters quoted Sunvin Group analyst Anilkumar Bagani on the possibility that production and inventories may rise more than expected. He also suggested Indonesian exporters might bring forward shipments before January to benefit from lower export-tax brackets and avoid a potential Danantara transaction fee. This is an analyst's forward-looking assessment, not evidence that exports have accelerated or confirmation that such a fee has taken effect.

What it means for Indonesia

The Bursa Malaysia fall is a regional market signal; it does not show that Indonesian farmers' fresh fruit bunch (FFB) prices will fall by the same amount. Provincial FFB price determinations have their own periods and formulas. Indonesia's physical KPBN tenders, Malaysian futures and the monthly biodiesel market index price (HIP) also differ in transaction type and timing. Readers should compare the separate CPO, FFB and biodiesel HIP series rather than treating them as interchangeable.

On 3 November, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said the B50 biodiesel mandate would continue while the government prepared a bioethanol strategy. That policy statement neither sets a daily CPO price nor guarantees an immediate pass-through to farmers. In a March statement, the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) explained that palm oil export levies support smallholder replanting and the biodiesel programme. Export prices, levy receipts and B50 financing are therefore relevant to monitor, but the size of any effect from a single day's fall cannot be determined from these closing reports.

MPOB's 10 November release should help test whether fears of a stock build-up are borne out by official data. Until then, keep observed futures closes separate from inventory projections and possible export responses.