Quotations for palm oil continue to rise, and for soybean oil - to fall
The vegetable oil market is under significant supply and demand pressure this year due to the slowdown in global economies and the spread of covid-19 in China (which is the world's largest importer of vegetable oils). In China, protests against quarantine restrictions have now been joined by demands for the resignation of Xi Jinping, which increases market pessimism.
Palm oil prices rose for 10 straight days on the back of a pick-up in exports from Malaysia, which rose between 1.7% and 5.6% in November compared to October, according to surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Amspec Agri.
January palm oil futures on the Malaysian exchange rose 2.2% to 4,234 ringgit/t or $953/t since Monday, as the greenback gained more amid a 1.38% rise in the ringgit against the dollar.
The Malaysian government kept the export duty on crude palm oil at 8% for December, but raised the indicative price, which will lead to higher prices by the end of the year. Weather conditions in the country favor oil production, so significant price fluctuations are not expected.
January soybean oil futures in Chicago fell 1.7% yesterday (having lost Monday's gains) to $1,581/t, down 3% in two weeks but adding 1.1% for the month. They are trading at $1,528/t today in anticipation of the October US soybean processing report, which could hit a 10-month high.
Demand prices for sunflower oil with delivery to buyers this week decreased from $1,390 to $1,350/t CIF (according to the Trading Economics platform) amid increased offers from Ukraine and the Russian Federation. EU demand prices also eased to $1,150/t DAP Poland, $1,200/t DAP Bulgaria, $1,280/t DAP Italy as demand from biodiesel producers falls amid lower oil prices as well as rapeseed oil in the market EU to the level of 1240-1280 €/t.
Ukraine is trying to intensify the supply of sunflower oil through the Black Sea ports, but failures in the supply of electricity have practically blocked the operation of large SEZs, so there is no seasonal increase in offers yet.
