South American Weather Weighs on Soybean Oil Prices

Improving growing conditions in South America continued to weigh on the soybean complex on Tuesday. In addition to the weakness in soybean futures, the liquidation of bull spreads across the complex drove nearby futures sharply lower. Palm oil futures moved lower overnight, but the decline was limited by the relatively more bullish palm oil fundamentals, causing the spread between the January soybean oil and palm oil contracts to a new low. With a 1 1/4 cent premium for palm oil, the demand for U.S. soybean oil exports is likely to remain healthy. Crude oil futures were modestly lower but remained well above recent lows. The spread between heating oil futures and soybean oil futures is so high that any decline in energy values likely have little impact on soybean oil prices.

The disparity between domestic soybean oil…