Profit-Taking Trims Gains in Soybean Oil, Sinks Palm Oil Markets

World vegetable oil prices were mixed on Thursday. Palm oil futures relinquished early gains to end lower on profit-taking and weaker exports in January. Oil/meal spreading drove an early runup in soybean oil prices before the markets backed off their highs. Funds started to book profits as worrisome inflation data pulled a broad range of commodity markets lower. Benchmark soybean oil futures closed more than 100 basis points below the high, but still up 0.65 percent in value (March contract +41 basis points per pound). Contracts from December 2022 and onward ended marginally lower (March 2023 -10 basis points per pound).  

After Wednesday’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, traders worried the return of hot and dry weather in southern Brazil could cause additional crop damage. The market also looked to even deeper cuts to South…