Palm oil continues to fall in price, while soybeans rose slightly in price
Quotations for vegetable oils on world exchanges are traded in different ways. Soybean oil and soybeans rose in Chicago on forecasts of a cut U.S. harvest, while palm oil prices fell to a one-month low under pressure from oversupply and reduced demand.
October palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia fell 2% on Friday to their lowest since August 5 at 3,915 ringgit/t, or $874/t, losing 8.7% in price for the week. The reason was another lockdown in China due to Covid, which may further reduce the demand for oil from its largest importer. The southern Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen has tightened restrictions due to Covid, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu has closed down the region of 21.2 million people.
According to Societe Generale de Surveillance, in August, compared to July, Malaysia increased palm oil exports by only 0.3% from 1.306 to 1.309 million tons, while crude palm oil shipments fell sharply from 377.3 to 278.2 thousand tons.
At the same time, in August, compared to July, the EU increased the import of Malaysian palm oil from 244.4 to 342.6 thousand tons, China - from 81.5 to 157.2 thousand tons, Pakistan - from 10 to 17.9 thousand tons, then as India cut purchases from 270.1k to 210.9k t, worrying traders who are now awaiting the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's August production report, which could boost production and inventory estimates.
On the Chinese stock exchange in Dalian, palm oil futures fell by 5.4% on Friday, soybean futures fell by 4%.
October soybean oil futures in Chicago rose 4% to last week's level of $1,496/t on Friday, nearly reversing a previous 5.5% drop and adding 5.8% to prices for the month.
Accelerating soybean and sunflower harvests in the Northern Hemisphere will increase the supply of soybean and sunflower oils, which compete with each other as premium oils. Against the background of increased supply of sunflower oil, the prices of which remain at the level of $1,200-$1,300/t FOB and $1,400-1,500/t C&F, soybean oil quotes may soon decline.
