Fund Spreading Drives Soybean Oil Futures Lower

World vegetable oil prices were mixed on Thursday as the rally in soybean oil prices on Wednesday supported gains in palm oil while fund liquidation of long oil share positions weighed on soybean oil. The increases in soybean oil prices on Wednesday also helped drive the rally on the Dalian exchange, where fundamentals remain bullish. The second day of weakness in crude oil may have contributed to the bearish tone in the soybean oil market. Still, vegetable oil traders have not been taking cues from the crude oil market for at least the past month, so any crude related selling was likely minimal.

Soybean oil futures fell about 3/4 percent (December contract -24 basis points per pound). Despite the decline, the benchmark December contract remained well above the psychologically critical 33-cent level. Selling at the upper…