Asking prices for most products on the European vegetable oils market eased further on Monday due to a sharp fall in Chicago futures followed by weaker palm oil futures on Monday because of technical selling. "Selling all over pressured the European cash market," one broker said. "The volatility kept many players on the sidelines because they were not certain if markets would fall further or the drop was just a step back for yet another jump."
Palm oil was mostly offered between $2.50 and $12.50 a tonne down from Friday after Malaysian palm oil futures closed between 14 and 42 ringgit per tonne down due to sluggish export demand and as traders forecast rising production in line with the seasonal trend. At 1630 GMT CBOT soyoil futures were between 0.01 and 0.17 cents per lb up, supported by a renewed rally in Chicago soybeans as talk that rains in the US could delay plantings boosted short covering. Gains were limited by the weak close in palm oil and weaker energy markets.