Soy, Canola & Palm Oil Trends 

Soybean Oil

• CME spot soybean oil futures were slightly lower through Wednesday of this week, compared to Wednesday of the prior week
• The USDA reported that the soybean harvest is 64% complete as of October 19, compared to 46% the prior week and 65% as the five-year average
• According to Reuters, President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch what he called a new "harvest fuel relief program" that will provide farmers with $8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during the harvest season
• U.S. imports of used cooking oil and tallow as alternative feedstocks to soybean oil for renewable diesel production continued at a steady pace through the first half of October, according to analysts
• According to Trading View, the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) estimated that as of September 30, domestic soybean oil stocks fell to 1.053 billion pounds, down 12.3% from the end of August, which was the lowest end-of-month total since November 2014. The September domestic soybean crush did not set a new monthly record for the first time in 17 months, due to weather-related harvest delays and maintenance downtime, according to analysts
• Elevated energy prices continue to lend underlying support to the vegetable oil markets, due to a firmer margin structure, according to analysts   

Canola Oil

• The Intercontinental Exchange November canola seed futures contract was lower this week, following the lead of the soybean oil market
• Canola seed prices traded down to a two-month low this week, as the harvest is now mostly complete and farmer selling has increased, according to analysts
• Canola oil basis offers were mostly steady this week, as the U.S. biofuel program and solid food demand continue to support the market, as reported by cash dealers

Palm Oil

• Palm oil prices on the Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange were mostly steady through Wednesday of this week, and remain at a large discount to soybean oil on the global cash market
• According to the Straits Times, cargo surveyors estimated that Malaysian palm oil products exports for October 1-20 rose between 58.5% and 78.4% from a month earlier
• Analysts continue to monitor the development of a very strong El Niño weather pattern, and note that strong El Niños have a history of reducing palm production in both Malaysia and Indonesia, where seasonal production turns lower in November

Mayo & Margarine

• The CME soybean oil market and palm oil prices on the Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange were steady to mixed this week, while the USDA butter market was higher