World vegetable oil prices were mixed on Tuesday despite a continuation of the sharp rally in crude oil prices and strength in world equities markets. The rally has driven crude oil up about 30 percent in the last two days and almost 40 percent from the overnight low Sunday night. However, world vegetable oil fundamentals continue to weigh on markets.

Soybean oil futures rose more than 1/2 percent (July contract +16 basis points) but settled well below the high of the day as prices fell sharply at the start of U.S. trading. Algo-driven trading in the overnight session was the driver of the outsized overnight gains, but technically-driven selling at the downsloping trendline limited the decline. However, prices did find support just above the 10-day moving average.

Palm oil futures were mixed with nearby contracts down about 1/2 percent (July contract -8 ringgit per tonne), while deferred contracts were up as much 3/4 percent (March 2021 contract +18 ringgit). The move lower set a fresh life-of-contract low and drove the spread to soybean oil up above 4 1/2 cents per pound.