Bargain buying spurs biggest rise in rapeseed prices in six months

Rapeseed futures aimed at their strongest session in six months, as a recovery in crude oil prices encouraged bargain hunting in the oilseed.

Rapeseed futures for May-26 added 2.5% in late deals in Paris, the strongest performance by a best-traded contract since mid-June.

Buyers exploited prices which had stabilised at around the €450/t mark, the lowest price in 21 months, after a late-2026 selldown.

The recovery repeated a pattern seen through 2025, when sharp rapeseed price falls were met by bargain hunting, fostering some sharp recoveries.

Monday’s rebound was supported by firmness in crude oil prices, spurred by concerns of unrest in Venezuela following the weekend’s US attack. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves. Brent crude futures gained 1.5%.

The recovery took the May-26 lot close to its 20-day moving average, which it has not traded at for more than a month.

However, Paris milling wheat futures for March-26 fell by 0.4%, as did London’s May-26 feed wheat lot, weighed by strength in sterling. The pound added 0.6% against both the dollar and the euro, supported by ideas that UK economic gloom has been overplayed.

Chicago wheat futures for March-26 added 1.1% in late morning deals, helped by further signs of conflict in the Russia-Ukraine war.  An overnight attack on Kiev killed two people in the Ukrainian capital, officials said.

Wheat prices were also supported by headway in rival grain corn, which for March-26 added 1.4% in Chicago, helped by data showing a further strong week for US exports, at 1.2Mt, despite it falling in a holiday period.

Soybean futures for March-26 also gained 1.4%. US soybean exports for last week were, at 980.5Kt, up by more than 200Kt from those the previous week.