KUALA LUMPUR: The strengthening El Nino risks driving up palm oil prices as consumers seek supplies on concern output will be crimped by dry weather and producers hold back sales.
“Historically, we’ve seen that in weather markets consumers tend to go long,” said Dorab Mistry (pic), a director at Godrej International Ltd, referring to El Nino and the Indian monsoon. “Producers become reserved sellers because they want to catch any upside. Prices tend to rise. How far they will go will depend on how weather problems develop.” Mistry has traded cooking oils for more than three decades.