VEGOILS-Palm oil edges lower on weaker rivals, higher export taxes

SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, weighed down by weakness in rival oils and the country’s move to raise export taxes for the commodity.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 2 ringgit, or 0.1%, to 3,409 ringgit ($839.24) in early trade. The contract gained 0.3% on Tuesday.

The weakness in palm oil was mainly due to cheaper rival oils elsewhere, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader told Reuters.

Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade BOc2 was last down 0.1% after rallying overnight as a labour strike in Argentina entered its 13th day. the Dalian Commodity Exchange, soyoil DBYv1 fell 0.6% and palm oil DCPv1 declined 0.8%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Malaysia has raised its January export tax for crude palm oil to 8% from 6.5% in December, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Tuesday. oil may retest a support at 3,381 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could cause a fall to 3,300 ringgit, Reuters analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. soybean futures snapped a four-day rally on Wednesday, slipping from a more than six-year high hit in the previous session as traders booked profits. GRA/

* Oil fell in early trade on Wednesday after industry data showed oil stocks rose last week and as U.S. President Donald Trump rattled markets by threatening not to sign a long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill. O/R

MARKETS

* U.S. stock futures fell, commodities slipped and Treasuries edged higher after Donald Trump threw a last-minute spanner in to pandemic relief plans by threatening not to sign a long-awaited stimulus bill in to law. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT) 1330 US

Consumption, Adjusted MM

Nov 1330 US

Durable Goods

Nov

($1 = 4.0620 ringgit)