Profit-Taking Drives World Vegetable Oil Prices Lower

Vegetable oil prices were weaker on Monday due to a mix of overnight weakness in crude oil and weakness in the soybean complex. While neither of the moves in the outside markets was dramatic, they were enough to trigger profit-taking following sharp gains in soybean oil and palm oil futures on Friday. Soybean oil traders ignored a rally in crude oil prices during U.S. trading hours as meal/oil spreading weighed on soybean oil futures, while palm oil traders ignored bullish cargo surveyor data due to overnight weakness in crude oil prices.

Nearby soybean oil futures declined by more than 1/2 percent (July contract -17 basis points per pound). However, losses in deferred contracts were generally smaller as contracts with 2021 deliveries fell by about 1/4 percent (January 2021 contract -9 basis points). Selling at the…