Soybean oil quotes in Chicago rose 8.4% for the week, leading to an increase in prices for other vegetable oils.

May soybean oil futures on the Chicago SWOT rose 8.4% in a week (after falling 4.5% the week before last) to the highest level since December 2022 of $1,588/t (+10% per month) against the backdrop of a new jump in oil prices.

The rapid rise in oil prices is the main driver of soybean oil prices, as demand from biofuel producers has finally begun to pick up. RIN (D4) values have reached their highest levels since 2022, which is encouraging refiners to actively purchase soybean oil as a feedstock.

June Brent crude futures rose 3.4% to $98.1/barrel (+2.2% month-on-month). Prices remain elevated on expectations of renewed military action against Iran and possible increased damage to oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.

During the week, soybean oil prices in China remained at $1,240/t, while in Brazil, soybean oil prices for April-May delivery fell by $15-20/t to $1,140-1,170/t FOB, and in Argentina - to $1,140/t. In Brazil, soybean harvest is almost complete, and huge queues have formed at the ports for shipment, so local processors have sharply reduced soybean prices, which allows them to offer the oil at low prices. Argentine soybean oil is offered at an incredible discount of about $350/t compared to Chicago prices.

June palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia rose 2% to 4,559 ringgit/t or $1,154/t for the week, unchanged for two weeks. Indonesia's decision to switch to using 50% palm oil in biodiesel (from 40% currently) is likely to reduce exports, which is supporting the price.

Prices for sunflower oil delivered to India decreased by $10/t to $1,420-1,425/t CIF Mumbai during the week due to a general decrease in demand for imported oils due to the start of domestic rapeseed processing and an increase in the supply of cheap palm oil and cheap sunflower oil from Argentina, the prices for which fell by $10-20/t to $1,260-1,280/t FOB during the week.

Demand prices for Ukrainian sunflower oil increased by $5-10/t during the week to $1,310-1,315/t with delivery to Black Sea ports, while supply prices for Russian sunflower oil decreased by $5/t to $1,320-1,325/t FOB.

Kazakhstan is also actively increasing its exports of sunflower oil, which is putting pressure on world prices. Thus, in the first half of the 2025/26 MY (September-February), it increased its exports of oil by 45% compared to the same period of the previous season, from 288 to 418 thousand tons.

The largest buyers of Kazakh sunflower oil in the first half of the 2025/26 MY remained Uzbekistan (197 thousand tons, +59%), China (134 thousand tons, +40%) and Tajikistan (40 thousand tons, +5%).