Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soyoil futures surged to all-time highs on Friday after Indonesia blocked exports of palm oil, a competing vegetable oil, but soybean and corn futures fell on profit-taking ahead of the weekend.
Wheat futures ended modestly lower after a choppy session as brokers weighed tightening global grain stocks against sluggish export demand for U.S. wheat supplies.
Chicago Board of Trade July soyoil settled up 0.87 cent at 80.51 cents/lb. after reaching 83.21 cents, the highest-ever price on a continuous chart of the most-active contract (all figures US$).
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Soyoil soared after Indonesia, the world’s top producer and exporter of palm oil, blocked exports from April 28 to tackle rising domestic prices. Easing COVID-19 restrictions have sparked a surge in demand for vegetable oils for food and biofuels.
“The new news is the Indonesian halt, but it’s a continuation of what has been going on for some time here. Global vegoil supplies are not keeping up with the demand,” said Terry Linn, analyst with Linn + Associates in Chicago.
However, CBOT soybean futures declined along with corn futures as traders booked profits and headed to the sidelines ahead of the weekend.
CBOT July soybeans ended 31-1/2 cents down at $16.88 a bushel, turning lower after rising to a two-month high of $17.34. July corn finished 6-1/4 cents lower at $7.89 a bushel, retreating farther from a contract top set Tuesday at $8.14, the highest for a most-active corn contract since 2012.
CBOT July wheat settled 1-1/4 cents lower at $10.75-1/4 a bushel.
Traders shrugged off support from fresh export sales of corn and soybeans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 1.347 million tonnes of U.S. corn to China as well as smaller quantities of corn and soybeans sold to Mexico.
“The market seems to catch its breath after the recent rises, and operators will now focus on the weather conditions on the North American continent to follow the progress of soybean and corn planting,” consultancy Agritel said.
— Reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
