Palm Oil Surges as Crude Jumps More Than 2% in Global Market Shift
Palm oil prices have risen in response to crude oil's recent surge. Malaysian palm oil futures increased by 0.79% to 4,852 ringgit a ton after crude oil jumped more than 2%. This move is driven by energy rather than food, as when crude rises, fossil diesel becomes pricier, making biodiesel blends made from palm more competitive and lifting demand from fuel blenders.
Despite some soft signals in the 'real economy', such as a decline in Malaysia's palm oil product exports for September 1st-10th, which fell by 11.7%-17.5% from the previous month, the slightly weaker ringgit made palm cheaper for overseas buyers, offsetting the export drop.
The market has become unusually tied to crude's next move, with daily cross-currents in rival contracts being mixed: Chicago soybean oil rose 0.63%, while China's Dalian soybean oil and palm oil fell 0.66% and 0.97% respectively.