Pune: Cooking oil prices rose by up to 5% in wholesale markets Monday after soyabean oil futures in Chicago and palm oil contracts in Bursa Malaysia and Indonesia rallied, tracking a spike in crude oil.
Diversion of soyabean and palm oil for biodiesel increases when crude oil prices go up. The climb in crude oil prices amid the Middle East conflict is boosting demand for soyabean and palm oils as biodiesel feedstock, tightening supplies for food use.
"Although cooking oils we import are not using the Middle East shipping routes, neither do they originate from this region, the rally in cooking oil prices was linked to the rally in crude oil prices," said Nirav Desai, managing partner at GGN Research.
Traders reported increased uptake of cooking oils due to war-related supply and price worries. "Although it was a lean period, we saw an increase of 3-5% in demand for oil on Monday," said Shankar Thakkar, secretary (Maharashtra) at the Confederation of All India Traders. Retail prices take a few weeks to follow change in the wholesale market.
Dry fruit markets are also heating up. Prices of dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the fast during Ramadan, climbed 10-20% after the conflict disrupted shipments from Iran, Afghanistan and trading hubs in the UAE, squeezing availability in the local market.
Developments in the Middle East directly affect supplies of dry fruits and nuts. Besides dates, prices of nuts like almonds, pistachios and dried figs also jumped, by 5-8%, since the military conflict began, traders said.
Diversion of soyabean and palm oil for biodiesel increases when crude oil prices go up. The climb in crude oil prices amid the Middle East conflict is boosting demand for soyabean and palm oils as biodiesel feedstock, tightening supplies for food use.
"Although cooking oils we import are not using the Middle East shipping routes, neither do they originate from this region, the rally in cooking oil prices was linked to the rally in crude oil prices," said Nirav Desai, managing partner at GGN Research.
Traders reported increased uptake of cooking oils due to war-related supply and price worries. "Although it was a lean period, we saw an increase of 3-5% in demand for oil on Monday," said Shankar Thakkar, secretary (Maharashtra) at the Confederation of All India Traders. Retail prices take a few weeks to follow change in the wholesale market.
Dry fruit markets are also heating up. Prices of dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the fast during Ramadan, climbed 10-20% after the conflict disrupted shipments from Iran, Afghanistan and trading hubs in the UAE, squeezing availability in the local market.
Developments in the Middle East directly affect supplies of dry fruits and nuts. Besides dates, prices of nuts like almonds, pistachios and dried figs also jumped, by 5-8%, since the military conflict began, traders said.
