30.10.2018 (TODAYonline) - JAKARTA - Malaysian palm oil futures fell by the midday break on Tuesday, stepping back from a nearly 2 percent rebound a day earlier, as weak demand persisted while lower U.S. soybean prices compounded the market's woes.

The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery <1FCPOc3> on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.78 percent at 2,170 ringgit ($519.39) per tonne at the midday break. [POI/]

Palm failed to sustained the 1.8 percent gain posted a day earlier, breaking four consecutive losses last week.

Trading volume stood at 11,930 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon. <1FCPO-TOT>

"Demand is not coming in, exports is still looking weak so it's difficult to sustain gains," said a palm oil trader in Kuala Lumpur.

Palm oil may end its current bounce around a resistance at 2,202 ringgit per tonne and then resume its downtrend, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. Palm may eventually travel to 2,099 ringgit.

Meanwhile, a weak soybean market also put pressure on palm oil, the trader said.

U.S. soybean futures fell on Tuesday to hit a six-week low, as a USDA report putting harvesting ahead of market expectations added to pressure from abundant supplies and the U.S.-China trade dispute.

The January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange <DBYF9> fell 0.35 percent on Tuesday, while the Dalian January palm oil contract <DCPF9> edged down 0.09 percent.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements of other edible oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market. REUTERS