KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil is heading for a recovery in the second half on improving global demand and dwindling output, months after the coronavirus shattered the tropical oil’s stunning bull run.
Demand for the world’s most-consumed cooking oil, used in everything from chocolate to ice-cream, lipstick and shampoo, is poised to recover as lockdowns across the globe begin to ease and major consumers, including China and India, are boosting purchases to replenish stockpiles.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council predicts prices will hit a peak of RM2,594 per tonne in the second half, and average at RM2,337 this year, if Indonesia and Malaysia proceed with their biodiesel blending mandates as planned, and Europe’s oilseed production eases, paving way for buyers to switch to palm.
...