Not only copper and iron. Among the raw materials in sprint there are also agricultural ones and, among these, it is palm oil, which on Thursday night made Kuala Lumpur score the highest futures ever. In fact, on the Malaysian Stock Exchange, the benchmark contract on this commodity reached 4.524 ringgit per ton (equal to 1,094.33 dollars).
Palm oil prices are mainly driven by concerns about the scarce global supply of edible oil.
Furthermore, operators' expectations weigh on the report that the United States Department of Agriculture will release today, May 12, with new estimates on global agricultural supply and demand. Analysts expect the document to include a restriction of supplies up to 2022.
“Funds also continue to buy commodities in general such as hedge against inflation, considering the low dollar,” adds a source quoted by S&P Global.
Palm oil is then backed by the global agricultural market rally, led by futures del but and soy of Chicago, also trading at the highs of recent years.
And the rises, in all likelihood, are not over: according to Wang Tao, an analyst at Reuters, palm oil is ready to break a resistance at 4.436 ringgit per ton and climb up to 4.494-4.556 ringgit.
Instead, the source cited by S&P Global points out that, in the overall landscape of agricultural commodities, “global oilseed production came under significant pressure from weather concerns last year and this resulted in a supply squeeze, which saw prices keep growing. Labor shortages in palm oil-producing regions are also worrying."
