Palm oil prices were slightly higher on the European vegetable oil market on Friday as the market recovered some ground after a sharp setback earlier in the week Dealers noted the trend was in line with the Malaysian futures market where prices bounced off a 6-week low.
RBD palm olein for April/June shipment traded as low as $600 early but then rose to a peak of $608, up from a final trade on Thursday of $602.50. The shipment period had traded at $637.50 at the end of last week. Prices have been weighed by sluggish demand and weakness in competing edible oils including soyabean oil.
CBOT March soyaoil was up 1.15 percent at 29.88 cents a lb at 1735 GMT but was still on course for a weekly loss of more than 5 percent. US soyaoil futures have fallen to their lowest level since December 2008 this week, following an announcement this week by the US Environmental Protection Agency that could clear the way for more soyaoil-based biodiesel imports from Argentina.