# Palm oil futures plunge

> Malaysian palm oil futures fell 7.5% on 21 April to their lowest since August 2019, following a collapse in US crude oil futures that settled negative the previous day. Palm oil's biodiesel demand weakened as the energy price slump made palm-based biodiesel uneconomic against gas oil. Chinese soyabean oil and palm oil futures also fell on the Dalian exchange.

- Date: 2020-04-30 · published 2020-04-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region Malaysia · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/11551-palm-oil-futures-plunge
- Commodities: [Palm Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/PALMOIL.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

Palm oil prices are closely tied to crude oil through biodiesel blending economics, so the energy price collapse removes a key demand support and points to continued price weakness.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- PALMOIL: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PALMOIL | 2020-05-04 | 5 | -9.4% | -3.2 | The crude oil collapse made palm biodiesel uneconomic and weakened a key demand channel, but the 7.5% fall was on 21 April, before the 5-day window, so it is background pressure. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PALMOIL | 2020-03-11 | [Ag Markets Feel Pinch As Oil Prices Plunge - ProAg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54223-ag-markets-feel-pinch-as-oil-prices-plunge-proag.md) | -3.6% | -5.9% |
| PALMOIL | 2020-02-25 | [Crude palm oil futures hit 4-month low on uncertain market sentiment \| Malay Mail](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6573-crude-palm-oil-futures-hit-4-month-low-on-uncertain-market-sentiment-malay-mail.md) | -13.3% | -15.6% |
| PALMOIL | 2025-04-07 | [Palm and Soy Oil Prices Drop as Oil Prices Decline](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9631-palm-and-soy-oil-prices-drop-as-oil-prices-decline.md) | -2.5% | -6.2% |
| PALMOIL | 2020-03-13 | [Crude oil sell-offs see prices for palm oil decline \| Analysis & Features \| The Grocer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54237-crude-oil-sell-offs-see-prices-for-palm-oil-decline-analysis-and-features-the.md) | -2.8% | -3.9% |
| PALMOIL | 2020-03-09 | [Oil plunges 25%, hit by erupting Saudi-Russia oil price war](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4419-oil-plunges-25-hit-by-erupting-saudi-russia-oil-price-war.md) | -6.5% | -12.1% |
| WTI | 2020-03-11 | [Ag Markets Feel Pinch As Oil Prices Plunge - ProAg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54223-ag-markets-feel-pinch-as-oil-prices-plunge-proag.md) | -21.7% | -31.5% |
| WTI | 2020-03-30 | [Crude oil futures drop as pandemic darkens demand outlook](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5321-crude-oil-futures-drop-as-pandemic-darkens-demand-outlook.md) | +64.1% | -28.3% |
| WTI | 2020-03-09 | [Shares sunk by coronavirus panic, oil prices plunge \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4641-shares-sunk-by-coronavirus-panic-oil-prices-plunge-reuters.md) | -23.0% | -31.2% |

## Sources

- ofimagazine.com: https://www.ofimagazine.com/news/palm-oil-futures-plunge

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.