Coconut oil prices were higher on Monday, bucking an overall weaker trend on the European vegetable oils market, boosted by concerns about possible damage to production in the Philippines from a typhoon.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the central Philippines on Monday as a typhoon with winds of up to 150 kph (95 mph) made landfall, dumping heavy rain that could cause flooding, landslides and storm surges, authorities warned. "We don't know what the damage is. It looks to not be that damaging but we will have to wait," one dealer said. Philippine/Indonesian coconut oil asking prices were $15.00 to $17.50 a tonne higher. Palm oil asking prices were lower weighed by weak demand and falling crude mineral oil prices.