11/22/24 Afternoon Commstock Report – All about the Oils

Friday was another session where grain traders had most of their focus locked on the continued tumble for soybean oil futures. After just testing the calendar year highs less than two weeks ago, the nearby soy oil contract has since dropped over 15 percent. Much of the soy oil loss was led by lower palm oil prices, which involved uncertainty about export demand and about the outlook for biodiesel production in Indonesia and Malaysia. There was related negativity about the potential direction of renewable fuels policies here at home as well, but that bearishness was balanced against the surprising surge in U.S. soy oil exports.   A big part of the current soybean oil story starts with the bearish outside reversal that futures suffered on November 11th. Soy oil futures reached a new six-month high early on that Monday session before traders went for the exit once they heard about President Trump selecting Lee Zeldin for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Fast forward to this last weekend, the soy bulls were further spooked by the choice for oil company CEO Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy. Zeldin was noted not necessarily for being against renewable fuels but…