KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s derivatives exchange is set to launch a night trading session for the crude palm oil contract and other products by the fourth quarter of 2021, Bursa Malaysia said on Thursday.
The after-hours trading session will be available for most products on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (BMD), it said in a statement.
BMD manages Malaysia’s crude palm oil futures contract, which sets the global price benchmark for the world’s cheapest and most widely used edible oil.
“The recent volatility in crude palm oil prices demonstrated the need for night trading,” said Samuel Ho, BMD Chief Executive Officer.
“It will provide an avenue for market participants to better manage their price risk exposure based on real-time global developments in different time zones,” he added.
The bourse said total monthly trading volume for the palm oil contract reached an all-time high at 1.7 million contracts on June 30, equivalent to 42.6 million metric tonnes of crude palm oil traded.
Benchmark crude palm oil prices in the world’s second largest producer hit a record high of 4,525 ringgit ($1,088.66) a tonne in mid-may.
Prices have since fallen to 3,714 ringgit ($893.54) a tonne on Thursday.
BMD is also planning to launch a new East Malaysian crude palm oil futures contract in the third quarter.
$1 = 4.1565 ringgit Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Martin Petty
