Palm oil resurges on Indian demand

Palm oil has bounced back to track gains in soybean oil and energy prices, with a recovery in demand from top buyer India further underpinning the tropical oil.

Futures closed 1% higher, after dropping 0.8% on Tuesday. Soybean oil, palm’s closest substitute for food and fuel, advanced 1.8% in Chicago ahead of a US government report that’s likely to show a cut in the country’s soybean production estimate for this year. Brent oil extended its rally, boosting palm’s biofuel appeal.

Stronger crude oil prices and a recovery in soybean oil are supporting palm, according to Rajesh Modi, a trader at Sprint Exim Pte in Singapore. Demand is firm from India, but still weak from other destinations, he said.

Malaysian exports to India surged 70% during the first 10 days of July from a month earlier.

Tags: Production, India, Malaysia, palm oil, futures, demand, soybean oil, estimate