Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market was offered mixed on Wednesday on contrasting signals and late support from technical strength in CBOT soyameal futures. Asking prices for palm oil were mostly between $5 a tonne up and $5 down, supported by a strong ringgit, while Malaysian palm oil futures closed between four ringgit up and eight ringgit down.
Weakness in energy markets weighed on Malaysian palm oil futures as did the stronger ringgit. A firmer ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for foreign buyers and could hamper export demand. "The recent lower levels following bearish news triggered bargain buying in both futures and cash markets," one broker said.
At 1630 GMT CBOT soyaoil futures were between 0.28 and 0.44 cents per lb higher on technical buying and because of bargain hunting following recent weakness. EU rapeoil was offered between four euros per tonne down and two euros up from Tuesday. Prices were underpinned by strength in Chicago soyaoil, while a weaker dollar, which weighs on euro-priced products, limited gains.
Lauric oils were mostly offered between $5 and $45 a tonne higher, tracking firmer palm oil and underpinned by the stronger ringgit. Improved underlying demand also supported prices as more aggressive sellers vanished during the day.