Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market continued to rise on Thursday on expectations for falling production in June and supported by stronger Dalian Commodity Exchange vegetable oil prices. Palm oil output in Malaysia, the world's second largest producer, is expected to decline or stay flat in June, due to the Ramadan and the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday period.
Asking prices for palm oil were between $2.50 and $10 a tonne higher after Malaysian palm oil futures closed between two and 33 ringgit per tonne up. "It was a tough day doing business with almost nobody knowing which way the market will go on the short term, although it looks like there is more chance prices will ease," one broker said.
At 1630 GMT, CBOT soyoil futures were between 0.17 and 0.31 cents per lb lower, on technical selling and pressured by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals to lower advanced biofuels use in the country's fuel supply. EU rapeoil was offered between unchanged and three euros per tonne down, tracking weaker Chicago soyoil and due to a softer dollar, which weighs on euro-priced products. Easier rapeseed futures, on profit-taking, added to the weakness in rapeoil.
Coconut oil was quoted between unchanged and $25 a tonne down as sellers were lowering asking prices to attract buying interest, while palmkernel oil was quoted between unchanged and $15 a tonne higher, tracking palm oil.