VEGOILS-Palm falls on weak India demand, soyoil competition

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures inched lower on Thursday, weighed down by weakening demand from India and growing pressure from cheaper soyoil.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 13 ringgit, or 0.29%, at 4,499 ringgit ($1,064.85) a metric ton by the midday break.

The market traded lower following news that India's palm oil imports fell to a four-month low, while cheaper soybeans and soybean oil squeezed demand for palm oil, said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

India's palm oil imports in September dropped to their lowest point since May as refiners shifted to cheaper soyoil, whose shipments hit a more than three-year high, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India said.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 fell 0.05%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 slid 0.28%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were up 0.63%.

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

Meanwhile, oil prices rose by around 1% in early trade after U.S. President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged his country would stop buying oil from Russia, which supplies about one-third of its imports. O/R

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit MYR=, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.09% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Palm oil looks neutral in a range of 4,484 ringgit to 4,530 ringgit per metric ton, and an escape could suggest a direction, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

($1 = 4.2250 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