FX.co ★ Palm Oil Steady on U.S. Shutdown End, Indonesia Biodiesel Outlook

Malaysian palm oil futures remained relatively stable, hovering around MYR 4,120 per tonne following modest declines in the previous session. Market sentiment received a boost after U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation concluding the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. In the Dalian exchange, the most-active soyoil contract showed a slight increase, while palm oil futures saw a minor decline. Analysts predict that November's production levels will remain high, driven by peak output in East Malaysia. Concurrently, end-of-month inventories are expected to either stay constant or increase slightly, following their 6-1/2-year high recorded in October. This week, prices have shown some recovery, bouncing back from three consecutive losing sessions amid speculation that Indonesia, the world's leading producer, may enhance its biodiesel mandate to 50% from the current 40% by the second half of 2026. Looking further ahead, Jakarta also intends to enforce mandatory ethanol blending in fuel by 2028 to lessen dependency on imported oil.