Egypt bought sunflower oil, which was cheaper than soybeans, and palm prices fell to a 6-week low

Vegetable oil markets are trading under the influence of various factors, but prices for all essential oils are slightly lower. Premium soybean and sunflower oils continue to compete for buyers, while palm oil is falling in price following the oil market and amid reduced demand.

Since Monday, November Brent crude oil futures have fallen 8.7% to $88/barrel, and WTI crude oil has fallen 5.5% to $82/barrel, and are approaching levels that preceded the start of the war in Ukraine.

At the same time, the world markets did not react to the threats of Putin, who declared at the Eastern Economic Forum that "Russia will not supply anything at all - neither gas, nor oil, nor coal or fuel oil, if the West limits their prices."

October palm oil futures on Bursa in Malaysia fell 2.9% yesterday to their lowest since July 25 at 3,690 ringgit/t, or $820/t, after losing 16.7% in two weeks, as traders did not see prospects for increased exports against the backdrop of lockdowns in China and falling oil prices.

A Reuters poll, conducted ahead of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's report, showed traders expected palm oil stocks to rise 12-15% to 2.03 million tonnes on seasonal supply growth.

On the Chinese stock exchange in Dalian, palm oil futures fell by 2.8% yesterday, soybean futures fell by 3.4%.

October soybean oil futures in Chicago fell 6.7% to $1,400/t from Monday, losing 5% for the month. Soybean oil is falling in price under the pressure of increasing offers of cheaper and better quality sunflower oil from Ukraine, and the results of the tender in Egypt indicate that prices will continue to fall.

This week, the Egyptian GASC held a tender for the purchase of imported 30,000 tons of soybean oil and 10,000 tons of sunflower oil. 6 soybean oil offers at $1405-1475/t and 8 sunflower oil offers at $1330-1550/t C&F were received. Sunflower oil sellers lowered their prices to sell their products, and GASC ended up buying 27,000 t of sunflower oil for November 11-30 delivery at a price of $1,300/t C&F.

The results of the tender indicate that in the coming months, when new crops of soybeans and sunflowers will enter the markets, competition between sellers of soybean and sunflower oil will intensify.