Vegetable Oil Prices Mixed Ahead of Monthly Reports

Vegetable oil prices were mixed again on Wednesday, but for the first time in the last two weeks, soybean oil prices fell sharply while palm oil prices rose sharply. Both markets also generally moved in the opposite direction of crude oil prices, which were lower in overnight trading but rallied during U.S. trading hours. The rally left West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures to settle at the highest level since March 6.

Soybean oil futures fell more than one percent (August contract -32 basis points per pound) on technically-driven selling and fund spreading. The upper Bollinger band provided resistance for the third consecutive day, but buying at the five-day exponential moving average limited the decline. With soybean oil near the upper end of the recent trading range, futures may continue to move lower. However, the…