Palm oil rebounds in the Asian session, supported by short covering and rising rival products

(1) Malaysia Derivatives Exchange palm oil futures strengthened during the Asian trading session, with the November delivery contract rising by approximately 74 ringgit to 4,890 ringgit per ton. The surge in related oil prices overnight and potential short covering ahead of the public holiday jointly provided upward momentum for the market. (2) Institutional reports indicate that continued weakness in export demand and concerns about palm oil’s decreasing competitiveness compared to soybean oil remain constraints on further price increases, keeping buying interest cautious due to unfavorable price ratios. (3) Position adjustments ahead of the long weekend may have intensified short-term volatility, but with fundamentals lacking new bullish drivers, the sustainability of the rebound remains in doubt until signals from competing oils' price movements and supply from producing regions become clearer. (4) Subsequent focus will be on whether export data shows marginal improvement and whether the price spread between palm oil and soybean oil narrows again to attractive levels, thereby stimulating procurement interest from major importing countries.