23 Jan 2019 (Cogencis) - NEW DELHI – Futures contracts of all constituents of the edible oil basket declined today, giving up gains from the previous session. The February contract of soybean on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange settled around 2% lower due to tepid buying at higher price levels, analysts said.

The February soybean contract on NCDEX hit a 32-month high of 3,915 rupees per 100 kg in early trade tracking key contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade, analysts said. On the American bourse, soybean is likely to rise due to concerns over the crop in South American countries due to dry weather conditions. 

Futures contracts of refined soyoil on NCDEX and crude palm oil on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India each edged nearly 1% lower due to higher imports and huge stocks in physical markets, analysts said.

A sharp fall on the MCX was prevented by gains in key crude palm oil on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives. Crude palm oil futures on the Malaysian bourse ended higher today due to robust exports from the southeast Asian country, analysts said.

Malaysia's palm oil exports during Jan 1-20 are pegged at 929,575 tn, up 11.8% on month, private cargo surveyor AmSpec Agri Malaysia said. 

The rise in crude palm oil prices was also because of cues from key soyoil contracts on CBOT. Prices of soyoil and crude palm oil typically move in tandem because they are used as substitutes for each other.

The most-active April crude palm oil contract on the Malaysian bourse ended at 2,283 ringgits (about 39,381 rupees) per tn, up 0.8% from the previous close.

Taking cues from rest of the edible oil basket, mustard seed contracts on the NCDEX closed lower due to expectations of higher output this year, analysts said.

Farmers in the country have sown mustard across 6.87 mln ha as of Thursday, up 2.8% from a year ago, according to farm ministry data.

The following table details the prices of edible oils and oilseeds at 1844 IST, in rupees, and the difference compared with the previous session:

End

US$1 = 71.33 rupees

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT