Edible oil futures rally

Edible oil futures rally on firmer cash markets, meal futures slide

Edible vegetable oil futures in China rallied strongly on Tuesday thanks to a bullish spill-over effect from Malaysian palm oil market in which cash prices rose sharply.

Palm oil futures on Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) reacted quickly to stronger Malaysian cash prices. The whole curve on DCE was up 3% on the day with the main contract (January 2023 delivery) closing at 7,962 yuan/ton ($1,106/ton), the highest level in a month.

DCE soybean oil futures and rapeseed oil futures on Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) followed palm oil futures to the upside, gaining 1-2% across the board.

Conversely, meal futures in China were under pressure amid improved sentiment towards vessel arrivals of soybean imports this quarter. Fears of shipment delay caused by the low water draft level in the Mississippi River forced Chinese meal futures to rally earlier this month.

The main soybean meal futures contract on DCE was down nearly 1.3% on the day to 4,003 yuan/ton ($556/ton). The contract is down 5% cumulatively this week.

Meanwhile, oilseed futures in China mainly traded in red on Tuesday.

In the protein sector, hog futures on Tuesday recovered losses incurred the day before. However, egg futures were down sharply due to weaker demand.