The Conflict In Ukraine Is Putting Pressure On Prices Of Edible Oil

Palm oil: increased to an all-time high of 6472 MYR/T, buoyed by stronger demand as the conflict in Ukraine is putting pressure on prices of crude oil and other vegetable oils.

Meanwhile, supply remains limited. Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s estimated the country’s production in February fell 1.79% from the previous month, while exports for Feb. 1-25 rose over 25.1% to 1,095,753 tonnes from 876,056 tonnes shipped during the same period of January.

Also, Indonesia, the world’s top producer, started requiring producers to sell 20% of their planned exports to the domestic market. .

Crude Oil :Brent crude futures steadied above $98 per barrel on Tuesday as traders weighed the possible release of strategic crude reserves by the US and its allies to counter the impact of crippling sanctions against Russia on energy supply.

The US is reportedly considering tapping 30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with an equivalent amount from a group of other countries.

The UK benchmark rallied nearly 8% in the previous session as Western nations imposed more sanctions on Russia, raising fears of supply disruptions from one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers.

Companies including BP and Shell also announced plans to exit Russian operations, while importers of Russian oil faced payment and delivery difficulties.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ will meet on Wednesday to discuss output policy, where it is expected to stick to its plan of moderate supply increases despite market turmoil brought by the invasion.