23/07/2013 (The Star) - The following factors are likely to influence Malaysian palm oil futures and other vegetable oil markets.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Malaysian palm oil futures edged up in rangebound trade on Monday, fed by optimism that output in July could miss initial estimates, although sluggish exports damped investor appetite
* U.S. oil prices pulled back sharply on Monday from last week's 16-month high as traders sold to lock in profits from a blistering rally that briefly sent U.S. crude to a premium over Brent for the first time in nearly three years.

MARKET NEWS 
* World stock prices rose to near five-year highs on Monday on growing investor optimism after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strengthened his power base, adding weight to his plans to jumpstart the world's third-biggest economy.
* U.S. soybean meal futures rose by the daily trading limit to a new contract high on Monday as processors scrambled to obtain scarce supplies of the oilseed. * Gold jumped to one-month highs on Monday as a rise above $1,300 an ounce prompted more buying by speculators covering bearish bets, while copper and many agricultural commodities rallied too.

RELATED NEWS
> Malaysia's July 1-20 palm oil exports down 13.4 pct -SGS
> Soymeal jumps limit on tight supply, corn sags
> COLUMN-Options plays reveal bearish bias in US soybeans
> Iran taps Caspian Sea route to bolster grain stocks
> Wheat area in Britain down 19 pct - HGCA survey
> Iraq buys 50,000 T Australian wheat in tender-trade
> Arabica coffee, raw sugar up on Brazil cold, rain
> Mexico sets record sugar output of 7 mln tons

DATA/EVENTS
> Cargo surveyor, Societe Generale