Palm oil rebounds on stronger crude, rival oils

December 16, 2021: Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Thursday, clawing back from previous session's steep decline, tracking strength in rival soyoil and crude prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 33 ringgit, or 0.77%, to 4,299 ringgit ($1,016.67) during early trade.

It had plunged 4.5% in the previous session after cargo surveyors reported a larger-than-expected drop in exports during the first half of December.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Dec. 1-15 fell 13.4% to 789,549 tonnes from the same period in November, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said.

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.1% while its palm oil contract slipped 0.5%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.5%.

* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Oil prices rose as the United States implied consumer petroleum demand surged to a record high in the world's top oil consumer even as the Omicron variant of coronavirus threatens to dent oil consumption globally.

* Stronger crude oil futures typically make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Reuters