Vegoils futures tumbled across markets and regions, with Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) futures, several vegoils contracts in China and soyoil futures in Chicago all edging significantly lower on the day.
Malaysian CPO contracts fell for the second consecutive day due to profit-taking and deep losses in other vegoil futures.
The most-active CPO futures contract on Bursa Malaysia for June-delivery fell 2.1% to 4,135 ringgit ($874) per tonne, extending losses from the midday session due to softer buying sentiment.
Chinese vegoil futures plummeted on Wednesday March 27, with the most-active palm oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange down by 2.3% to 8,130 yuan ($1,146) per tonne, while the equivalent soybean oil contract decreased by 2.3% to 7,684 yuan per tonne.
The most-active rapeseed oil contract on Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange fell the most, by 2.9% to 8,076 yuan per tonne.
In the physical market, Chinese offers were lower — April shipments were at $990 per tonne CFR.
CPO discussions were also lower — an April shipment traded earlier in the day around $1,020 per tonne, but discussions fell to $1,005-1,010 per tonne CFR West Coast India (WCI) for April by the end of the day.
On an FOB basis, olein shipments were offered lower day on day at $957.50 per tonne for both April and May.
Freight rates for 18,000-20,000 tonne vessels from Southeast Asia to WCI and Pakistan held steady week on week, at $48 per tonne on Wednesday.
Freight rates for 10,000-12,000-tonne vessels carrying palm oil from Southeast Asia to East Coast India and Chittagong firmed by $1 per tonne to $38 per tonne this week.
Inquiries for March palm shipments are more than February levels — supported by greater supply and better export demand.
In the Americas, soyoil futures fell steeply on Wednesday, pressured by lower Malaysian palm oil futures and a lack of fresh headlines.
The May soyoil contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) fell by 1.6% to $0.4765 per lb at the time of publication.
This was near the lowest level over the past two weeks.
Plummeting Malaysian palm oil futures earlier in the day were the main factor pulling the soyoil market lower.
Little support for the remainder of the soy complex, coupled with the lack of fresh news, added to the bearish outlook.
Technical momentum for US grains and oilseeds waned while positioning before Thursday’s prospective planting and grain stocks reports was mostly concluded during the previous sessions.
Soymeal futures were broadly unchanged, with May CME contracts trading at $339.90 per short ton at the time of publication.
Product spreading dynamics provided some underlying support while the market remained mostly quiet in terms of shifts in fundamentals and technical factors.
Grains were mixed, with CME corn down and wheat up on the day while French milling wheat came under a weaker tone.
China’s soybean crush volume decreased to 1.53 million tonnes in the week to Friday March 22, according to data published this week by the China National Grain and Oil Information Centre (CNGOIC).
This marked the third straight week of declines for the weekly crush volume, with some crushers having suspended operations due to a lack of soybeans or the need to examine their machines.
Stocks of soybeans, soymeal and soyoil at Chinese crushing plants all declined on the week, with soyoil prices in the country strengthening due to limited availability and firmer palm oil quotations.
In the physical market, the soyoil basis firmed throughout the curve in South America on Wednesday.
The Argentinian basis for May loading was assessed at a discount of 7.25 cents per lb to CME May futures, up 0.95 cents per lb compared with the previous assessment.
The same basis in Brazil rose by 0.4 cents per lb day on day, to a discount of $0.07 per lb to May futures.
Brazilian soymeal basis for May loading was seen at a premium of $0.50 per short ton to underlying futures, unchanged from Tuesday.
In Argentina, the same basis rose by $1 per short ton and was assessed at a premium of $4 per short ton to May futures.
Sellers of sunflower oil in six European ports for April/May/June shipment were not seen on the market by the end of the day, while offers for July/August/September loading fell by $10 per tonne on the day to $970 per tonne FOB, against buyer ideas $957.50 per tonne FOB.
Sunflower oil for shipment in October/November/December was traded on Wednesday at $957.50 per tonne FOB, which is $7.50 per tonne cheaper than the day before.
Prices for rapeseed oil in European ports fell by €15-20 per tonne on the day to offer levels of €917 ($994) per tonne FOB Rotterdam against the sellers’ idea of €910 per tonne FOB Rotterdam for shipment in April-May.
Rapeseed oil for May/June/July loading traded at €910 per tonne FOB Rotterdam on Wednesday, down €9 per tonne from the previous day.
Sellers of sunflower oil in the Black Sea region reduced offer prices because buyer interest was limited and coverage was sufficient, while buyer levels remained relatively stable.
Sunflower oil for April delivery was offered at $860 per tonne CIF Marmara, $865 per tonne CIF Izmir and $870 per tonne CIF Mersin.
The supply levels of Russian sellers were $5 per ton lower.
Buyer levels were shown on average $10-20 per tonne lower: $840 per tonne CIF Marmara, $845 per tonne CIF Izmir, 860 per tonne CIF Mersin.