Soybean Oil Tops 50 Cents on Strength in Crude and Soybeans

A rally in crude oil prices and substantial, if only temporary, sharp gains in soybean futures helped drive soybean oil futures higher on Thursday. The current leg of the rally in soybean oil prices continues to support palm oil, despite concerns about a faster build in inventories than previously expected. Strength in cash vegetable oil prices also lent support to the futures markets and suggests demand has driven the recent gains rather than speculative positioning.

The spread between May soybean oil and palm oil futures traded in a two-cent range, testing the 10-cent level for the first time. However, selling in soybean oil futures during the afternoon left the spread to settle just above the nine-cent level that has acted as substantial resistance over the past month. The July spread settled above 11 cents to…