Prices were mostly weaker on the European vegetable oil market on Friday, weighed down by a further setback in CBOT soyaoil futures and a bearish mood at a major conference this week in Malaysia, dealers said. Dealers said dollar-denominated prices were also depressed by the strength of the dollar which surged to an 11-1/2 year high against a basket of currencies as news of robust US employment growth bolstered market sentiment that the Federal Reserve was closer to raising interest rates.
RBD palm olein for April/June shipment traded at $645 a tonne, $12.50 lower than last business on Thursday while July/September changed hands at $620, down $5. Top industry analysts painted a gloomy outlook for palm for the second half of the year at a conference this week and as a result the Malaysian contract, which sets the tone for global prices, pulled back from an eight-month high. May CBOT soyaoil was off 1.3 percent at 31.16 cents a lb at 1716 GMT.