The rise in the incidence of Covid - 19 has brought down oil prices and increased pressure on vegetable oils

Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam, Turkey and Iran are experiencing a rapid increase in new cases of Covid-19, and in some countries it was a record since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the United States, where half of the population is vaccinated, the number of new diseases exceeded 100 thousand cases per day. Most of them are in the southern states, where the vaccination rate is lower. The Delta strain has already reached Florida, where the peak incidence of the winter wave has exceeded and new historical highs have been reached.

China confirmed 125 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, up from 96 cases a day earlier, so the authorities are tightening quarantine restrictions and have already canceled flights in 46 major cities, as well as restricted public transport in 144 dangerous areas.

In addition, China, the world's largest importer of oil, reduced its purchases to 9.7 million barrels per day in July, compared with 9.8 million barrels per day in June and 12.1 million in July 2020.

Oil prices on world stock exchanges have fallen sharply. October Brent crude futures fell 4.5% to 6 68/barrel, losing 11% since the beginning of August, but recovered to.69/barrel at the end of trading. October WTI crude futures fell to 6 65.44/barrel, but then recovered to.66.5/barrel, losing 4.1% on the day, and since the beginning of August – 12% of the price.

Malaysian palm oil futures fell 1.7% yesterday to 4,200 ringgit/ton, or 9 993/ton, following oil prices and export forecasts.

On the SWOT Exchange, October soybean oil futures fell 1.8% to.1,323/ton under pressure from the oil and palm oil markets, as well as against the background of the good condition of soybean crops in the United States.

Prices for Ukrainian sunflower oil are 1 1200-1270/ton FOB, depending on the delivery time. Despite the increase in forecasts for the sunflower harvest in Ukraine and Russia, sellers do not lower oil prices, as they expect increased purchases by importers against the background of significant prices for soybean oil, which are higher than for sunflower oil.