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Euro veg oils close steady on pre-holiday covering

LONDON: Most sectors of the European vegetable oil market closed higher on Thursday, the last trading day before the Easter break.

The market reopens on Tuesday April 9.

Business was dominated by short covering ahead of the break with crude palm oil $5 to $10 higher after April traded at $540 and $542.50, May at $532.50, $537.50 and $530, and Jul/Sep $527.50 and $532.50 a tonne cif.

Malaysian palm products attracted active trade earlier in the day, but by the close this had died down. Sellers finished $5 to $7.50 up.

Higher Chicago futures on Wednesday and talk that India bought at its tender was also supporting palm oil prices.

Traders said India's State Trading Corporation is said to have bought 6,000 tonnes of RBD palm olein at $564 a tonne cost and freight for shipment up to April 25.

Traders said they had not received official confirmation, but very reliable sources were saying India had in fact bought.

Soft oils closed unchanged to one guilder higher with acvtive trading reported during the afternoon.

May/Jul soy oil traded at 94.50, Aug/Oct at 97 and Nov/Jan at 99.50 and 99.75 guilders.

Rape oil fetched 91.50 and 91.75 guilders for May/Jul, 94 for Aug/Oct and 96 guilders a 100 kilos fob ex-mill for Nov/Jan.

"With the holiday weekend on us, people have had no choice but to pay the higher prices," said a trader.-Reuter