Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market edged higher on Thursday ahead of fresh USDA crop and supply and demand data, tracking firmer Malaysian palm oil futures. A weaker ringgit supported firmer Palm oil futures. The weaker currency makes palm oil cheaper for foreign buyers and could spur export demand.
Asking prices for palm oil were between unchanged and $5 a tonne higher after Malaysian palm oil futures closed between 5 ringgit and 19 ringgit a tonne up. "Most products hovered close to unchanged because of the USDA data due today and MPOB's January palm oil stocks number on Monday," one broker said.
CBOT soyaoil futures were between 0.06 and 0.21 cents per lb lower at 1700 GMT on positioning ahead of the USDA data, which was issued late in the European afternoon. Weaker energy markets also weighed on soyaoil futures. EU rapeoil was quoted between 2 euros and 4 euros a tonne up from Wednesday on the back of a stronger dollar and good underlying demand. Slightly firmer rapeseed futures, on positioning ahead of the USDA reports, also underpinned rapeoil. Lauric oils were offered between $10 and $35 a tonne lower as sellers lowered prices to generate buying interest.