Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market was offered firmer on Wednesday on the back of a weak ringgit that sparked short-covering on hopes for improved exports. "A weak ringgit makes palm oil cheaper for foreign buyers, which caused Malaysian palm oil futures to rally, making palm oil more expensive for all buyers," one broker said.
Palm oil was mostly offered between $2.50 and $12.50 a tonne down from Tuesday after Malaysian palm oil futures closed between 66 and 80 ringgit per tonne higher, as traders covered short positions after four sessions of losses and as the ringgit sunk to its weakest in five weeks. At 1630 GMT, CBOT soyaoil futures were between 0.04 and 0.29 cents per lb, tracking gains in CBOT soyabeans on bargain hunting and due to technical buying.
EU rapeoil was offered between three and five euros a tonne up, tracking firmer CBOT soyaoil and stronger rapeseed futures, which took cue from Chicago soyabeans. Lauric oils followed the trend in palm oil and were quoted between $5 and $40 a tonne higher, also supported by a weak dollar, which underpins products quoted in that currency.