Genting Plantations, Sarawak Oil Palms up as CPO stays above RM3,000/tonne

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Genting Plantations Bhd and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd's share prices rose today among Bursa Malaysia top gainers as crude palm oil (CPO) prices stayed above RM3,000 a tonne.

At 4:04pm, Genting Plantations jumped 50 sen to RM11.10 while Sarawak Oil Palms climbed 25 sen to RM3.99.

Earlier at 3:55pm, CPO prices for February 2020 rose RM60 to RM3,064 a tonne, while CPO prices for March 2020 added RM62 to RM3,067 a tonne.

Yesterday,Bloombergreported that CPO futures closed above RM3,000 per tonne for the first time in almost three years as concerns about output from second-biggest producer Malaysia prompted investors to buy more at the end of 2019.

CPO production in the Southeast Asian country is estimated to have dropped 16.4% during Dec 1-20 from a month earlier, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Association. The growers' group said output fell 20% in Peninsular Malaysia, 10.9% in Sabah and 7.4% in Sarawak.

"The market was also supported by firmer crude oil prices, which increased the tropical oil's biofuel appeal,"Bloombergreported.