Following a volatile year, US spot canola oil prices could close out 2024 near their lowest level in more than four years.

On Thursday December 26, Fastmarkets assessed canola oil, refined, bleached and deodorized, fob Los Angeles at $0.4847 per lb. On the month, prices are down by more than 5%, but on the year, they have dropped by more than 22%.

Canola oil basis indications — which had been holding at a premium of 10 cents per lb above the benchmark soybean oil futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange since November — moved down to a premium of 9 cents per lb to the underlying contract on Thursday.

US soybean oil futures and cash markets have crumbled due to a drop in demand, specifically from the US biofuel sector.

Canola oil and soybean oil buyers have scattered ahead of the upcoming expiration of the $1-per-gallon Blenders’ Tax Credit (BTC) on December 31, 2024.

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