Malaysian palm oil futures opened lower on Tuesday, weighed down by weaker rival edible oils and crude oil, but were on track for a monthly gain.
The benchmark palm oil contract (FCPOc3) for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 37 ringgit, or 0.81%, to 4,551 ringgit ($1,120.94) a metric ton in early trade.
The contract has gained 1.10% so far this month after two straight months of declines.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract (DBYcv1) fell 0.07%, while its palm oil contract CME:CPO1! shed 0.25%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (BOcv1) were down 0.62%.
* Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
* Oil prices dropped, with investors eyeing the outcome of potential U.S.-Iran talks in Doha amid weekend missile fire from both sides that tested an interim ceasefire to end the four-month-old war. O/R
* Weaker crude oil futures make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
* Cargo surveyors are expected to release their full-month June estimates for Malaysian palm oil product exports later in the day.
* The ringgit FX_IDC:USDMYR, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.17% against the dollar, making the commodity more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.
* Indian farmers have fallen behind in planting summer crops, including rice, cotton, corn and soybeans, as a slow start to the monsoon has meant below average rainfall so far.
* Indonesia's palm oil exports, including refined products, were 2.78 million tons in April, versus 1.78 million tons in the same month last year, Indonesian Palm Oil Association data showed.
* Palm oil may test a support at 4,513 ringgit per ton, driven by a wave c, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks wobbled toward the end of a sparkling quarter on Tuesday, while a resurgent dollar pushed the yen to a four-decade low and was headed for a fourth straight quarterly rise. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS
0600 UK GDP QQ, YY Q1
0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY, MM Jun
0645 France CPI Prelim YY, MM NSA Jun
0645 France Producer Prices YY May
0755 Germany Unemployment Chg, Rate SA Jun
1200 Germany CPI, HICP Prelim YY Jun
1400 US Consumer Confidence Jun
($1 = 4.0600 ringgit)