PALMOILMAGAZINE, KUALA LUMPUR — Palm oil prices extended their gains as expectations of stronger global demand improved, with market participants also weighing the potential impact of flooding across key producing regions.
Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, Head of Trading and Hedging Strategies at Kaleesuwari Intercontinental, said festive-related buying has started to gather pace. Demand typically strengthens ahead of the Lunar New Year and the Ramadan period, which begins in early 2026, and is expected to lend further support to palm oil prices in the weeks ahead.
At the same time, heavy rainfall and flooding in several parts of Asia, including Malaysia, could disrupt distribution and logistics. “These weather-related disruptions may tighten supply at a time when demand is beginning to accelerate,” Thiagarajan said.
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By midday trading, February crude palm oil (CPO) futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.9% to 4,132 ringgit per ton, marking gains in four of the past five trading sessions.
Strength in related vegetable oil markets also underpinned sentiment. January soybean oil futures in Chicago advanced 0.5% to 52.61 cents per pound. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, refined palm oil for January delivery climbed 0.5% to 8,692 yuan per ton, while January soybean oil prices were little changed at 8,278 yuan per ton.
Price differentials remained elevated. The premium of soybean oil over palm oil stood at around USD 161 per ton, well above the annual average of roughly USD 76. Meanwhile, the palm oil–gasoil premium hovered near USD 313 per ton, broadly in line with its annual average of about USD 314. (P2)
Source: Bloomberg
