Vegetable Oil Prices Post Largest Weekly Gain in Three Years

Vegetable oil prices rallied sharply on a combination of concerns about palm oil output and rising demand, especially from China, where vegetable oil futures rose between 1 1/2 and 2 1/4 percent on Friday. Wetter-than-normal conditions in China, Malaysia, and Indonesia are resulting in flooding that is driving concerns about vegetable oil production, particularly palm oil, over at least the balance of the month. The strong rally in vegetable oil prices occurred even though crude oil prices moved slightly lower on Friday. The correlation between the two commodities remains low due to the bullish vegetable oil fundamentals. However, if there were positive developments in the world economy that supported crude oil values, the gains in vegetable oil markets may have been more substantial.

Soybean oil futures…