Palm Oil Reaches New Highs, Soy Oil Chases Soy Complex Higher

On Thursday, edible oil prices continued to climb on short-covering and fresh buying by funds. Palm oil futures printed new highs which helped to sweep soy oil prices higher during U.S. trading hours. Soybean oil prices also advanced due to bullish sentiment across the bean complex that was sparked by ongoing crop/weather worries for South America and expectations for robust soybean exports to China.

The most actively traded soybean oil futures contract reached a 62.97-cent three-month high before ending 3 1/2 percent higher (March contract +212 basis points per pound). Contracts at the back end of the curve were up 2.8 percent to 3.4 percent (September contract +185 basis points per pound). As soybean oil prices surged, oil share also moved higher again, rising to its highest level in about six weeks to just below 44 percent. Spreads also continued to work higher, with…