Vegoils: Palm oil extends fall to one-month low on weak demand outlook

By Mayank Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended falls into a fourth session on Thursday and hit their lowest in one month on continued concerns about weak demand outlook, while declines in Chicago soybeans weighed on the market as well.

The palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.5 percent at 2,382 ringgit ($599.55) a tonne at the midday break.

Trading volume stood at 11,863 lots of 25 tonnes.

"Basically weak demand is causing prices to retreat," said a Kuala Lumpur-based palm oil trader.

Buying for Ramadan has fizzled out as most buyers have already stocked up with the vegetable oil.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in mid-May this year, is marked by communal fasting and feasting that boosts consumption of vegetable oils, including palm and soy, in the Middle East and across South and Southeast Asia.

"A weaker external market is also influencing Malaysian palm oil prices," said another Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

On Thursday, the most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade was 0.1 percent lower at $9.93 a bushel, after hitting its weakest since April 4 at $9.92 a bushel, as uncertainty about the United States' trade relationships with China, the world's top soybean importer, weighed on the market.

Palm oil is influenced by movements in rival edible oils and oilseeds as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Malaysia's palm oil exports in May dropped 8.8 percent from April to around 1.2 million tonnes, independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia said last week.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) said the country's May palm oil exports fell 9.9 percent from a month ago.

In Indonesia, the world's top palm oil exporter, shipments of palm and palm kernel oils plunged 13.6 percent in April, data from the Indonesia Palm Oil Association showed.

Palm oil still targets 2,364 ringgit, as it has broken a support at 2,408 ringgit per tonne, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0523 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL JUN8 2382 -14.00 2375 2388 58

MY PALM OIL JUL8 2382 -12.00 2372 2388 1,299

MY PALM OIL AUG8 2382 -12.00 2375 2390 5,580

CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP8 5014 -20.00 5004 5030 124,040

CHINA SOYOIL SEP8 5790 -32.00 5778 5820 225,004

CBOT SOY OIL JUL8 30.65 0.50 30.62 30.68 2,644

INDIA PALM OIL JUN8 645.40 0.50 643.10 645.90 52

INDIA SOYOIL JUN8 751.50 0.80 749.50 751.50 620

NYMEX CRUDE JUL8 65.15 0.42 64.85 65.25 33,614

Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne

CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound

Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne

India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg

Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 3.9730 ringgit)

($1 = 67.08 Indian rupees)

($1 = 6.39 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)