# Asian palm oil market drops 5.7% on coronavirus fears | S&P Global

> Asian palm oil futures fell nearly 6% on Friday, with the Bursa Malaysia May contract down MR137 or 5.69% to settle below MR2,322 per tonne. The drop followed a global equity selloff as coronavirus fears spread beyond East Asia, and Dalian palm olein futures hit limit down.

- Date: 2020-02-28 · published 2020-02-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5814-asian-palm-oil-market-drops-5-7-on-coronavirus-fears-s-and-p-global
- Commodities: [Palm Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/PALMOIL.md), [Soybean Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SBO.md)

## Why it matters

Investors pulled back from commodities on fears of weaker demand from the outbreak and broader financial stress, which pressures palm oil and its link to soyoil through biodiesel demand. Feed buyers face lower vegetable oil prices, though the move is driven by sentiment rather than physical supply.

## Read by commodity

- SBO: bearish ▼
- PALMOIL: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PALMOIL | 2020-03-02 | 5 | -13.3% | -4.9 | A near 6% one-day drop in Bursa Malaysia futures on Feb 28 amid a global equity selloff and coronavirus demand fears falls squarely within the 5-day window and accounts for a large part of the decline. |
| PALMOIL | 2020-03-02 | 1 | -12.4% | -5.8 | A near 6% one-day drop on Feb 28 on coronavirus-driven equity selloff and Dalian limit-down shows sentiment-led selling that carried momentum into the Mar 2 decline. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PALMOIL | 2020-01-29 | [Coronavirus punishes equities, ringgit and crude palm oil](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55341-coronavirus-punishes-equities-ringgit-and-crude-palm-oil.md) | -9.4% | -11.8% |
| PALMOIL | 2022-07-01 | [Palm oil falls 4% on recession fears, higher supply outlook - Markets - Business Recorder](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6225-palm-oil-falls-4-on-recession-fears-higher-supply-outlook-markets-business.md) | -24.3% | -29.0% |
| 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 | 2022-09-28 | [Palm hits lowest in over 1-1/2 years as recession fears dent demand - Markets - Business Recorder](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39674-palm-hits-lowest-in-over-1-1-2-years-as-recession-fears-dent-demand-markets.md) | -4.7% | +1.1% |
| PALMOIL | 2025-04-07 | [Palm and soybean oil prices fell by 4.4-5.9% amid a 14.5% drop in oil prices in two days](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9630-palm-and-soybean-oil-prices-fell-by-4-4-5-9-amid-a-14-5-drop-in-oil-prices-in.md) | -2.5% | -6.2% |
| SBO | 2020-03-09 | [Corn, soybeans, wheat drop about 2% as global markets recoil \| Financial Post](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11269-corn-soybeans-wheat-drop-about-2-as-global-markets-recoil-financial-post.md) | -8.3% | -7.2% |
| SBO | 2022-07-01 | [Palm oil falls 4% on recession fears, higher supply outlook - Markets - Business Recorder](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6225-palm-oil-falls-4-on-recession-fears-higher-supply-outlook-markets-business.md) | -7.8% | -10.0% |
| SBO | 2021-05-19 | [Oil prices dive $2 on fears of Asian pandemic, possible U.S. rate hikes \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47009-oil-prices-dive-2-on-fears-of-asian-pandemic-possible-u-s-rate-hikes-reuters.md) | -1.2% | -7.5% |

## Sources

- spglobal.com: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/agriculture/022820-asian-palm-oil-market-drops-57-on-coronavirus-fears

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