VEGOILS-Palm futures steady as strong ringgit offsets boost from rival oils

JAKARTA, April 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures traded sideways on Thursday, after two previous sessions of gain, as higher rival vegetable oils lent support while a strong currency limited gains.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 8 ringgit, or 0.2%, to 4,045 ringgit ($922.04)a metric ton by 0242 GMT.

The contract traded between 4,012 ringgit and 4,054 ringgit a ton in early trade, after closing at 4,037 ringgit in the previous session.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 was up 0.74%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 gained 0.88%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) BOc2 rose 0.39%.

* Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

* India has started raising palm oil purchases after a lull of five months as a correction in prices has made the tropical oil cheaper than rival soyoil, encouraging refiners to place orders to replenish inventories, four dealers told Reuters.

* Oil prices ticked up early on Thursday after falling nearly 2% in the previous session, with investors weighing a potential OPEC+ output increase against conflicting tariff signals from the White House and ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. O/R

* Malaysian ringgit, the contract currency of trade strengthened 0.02% against the U.S. dollar. A stronger ringgit made the contract less attractive for foreign currency holders.

* Palm oil FCPOc3 may retrace into a range of 3,929 ringgit to 3,968 ringgit per metric ton, following its failure to break resistance at 4,072 ringgit, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C

MARKET NEWS

* Stocks drifted on Thursday and a rebound in the dollar lost traction as investors tried to sift through the noise from the Trump administration and its fickle stance on tariffs and the Federal Reserve's leadership.MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0500 Japan Chain Store Sales YY Mar

0800 Germany Ifo Business Climate, Curr Conditions, Expectations New Apr

1000 UK CBI Business Optimism Q2

1230 US Durable Goods Mar

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 19 Apr, w/e

1400 US Existing Home Sales Mar

1430 US EIA-Nat Gas Chg Bcf, Nat Gas-EIA Implied Flow 18 Apr, w/e

($1 = 4.3870 ringgit)

For a table on Malaysian physical palm oil prices, including refined oil, Reuters Terminal users can double click on or type OILS/MY01. * To view freight rates from Peninsula Malaysia/Sumatra to China, India, Pakistan and Rotterdam, please key in OILS/ASIA2 and press enter, or double click between the brackets.  * Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures edible oil prices by double clicking on the codes in the brackets: To go to the next page in the same chain, hit F12. To go back, hit F11. Vegetable oils                       OILS/ASIA1 Malaysian palm oil exports           SGSPALM1   CBOT soyoil futures                  0#BO:      CBOT soybean futures                 0#S:       Indian solvent                       SOLVENT01  Dalian Commodity Exchange            DC/MENU   Dalian soyoil futures                0#DBY:   Dalian refined palm oil futures      0#DCP:   Zhengzhou rapeseed oil               0#COI:   European edible oil prices/trades    OILS/E