Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market continued to firm on Thursday, tracking a small rise in Malaysian palm oil futures on a technical rebound from recent losses. Asking prices for palm oil were between unchanged and $10 a tonne up from Wednesday after Malaysian futures closed between 3 ringgit and 10 ringgit higher.
"Bargain-buying in futures and a still strong ringgit supported palm oil on the cash market. The gap between buyers and sellers was too big to bridge today," one broker said. CBOT soyaoil futures were between 0.15 and 0.25 cents per lb lower at 1630 GMT in a technical correction from Wednesday's sharp gains on NOPA data showed a drop in stocks. Weaker energy markets also weighed.
EU rapeoil was offered between 3 euros and 8 euros a tonne higher, tracking overnight gains in CBOT soyaoil futures and supported by technical strength in rapeseed futures. Lauric oils were mostly offered between unchanged and $25 a tonne higher, following firmer palm oil and because of a weaker dollar, which underpins products quoted in that currency. The spread between coconut oil and the cheaper palmkernel oil was $135 a tonne for January/February shipment.