VEGOILS-Palm falls on weaker rival oils, but still set for third weekly gain

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures opened lower on Friday, weighed down by weaker rival edible oils, but still remained on track for a third weekly gain.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 33 ringgit, or 0.79%, to 4,164 ringgit ($1,035.82) a metric ton in early trade.

The contract has so far risen 2.60% this week.

FUNDAMENTALS

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 shed 0.17%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 lost 0.18%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.06%.

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

Oil prices rebounded after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed threats against major Middle Eastern producer Iran, raising concerns of military action that could disrupt supplies. O/R

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

The ringgit MYR=, palm's currency of trade, strengthened 0.5% against the dollar, making the commodity slightly more expensive for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Some Brazilian traders say soybean exports in January are likely to miss grain exporters' association Anec's forecast released on Tuesday, while Anec told Reuters it is reconsidering its estimate for 3.8 million metric tons of shipments this month.

Palm oil may fall to 4,132 ringgit per metric ton, following its failure to break a resistance at 4,211 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

MARKET NEWS

Stocks made tepid gains in early Asian trading on Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan's latest policy meeting, at which it is widely expected to keep rates on hold. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS

0700 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Dec

0700 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Dec

0745 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall Jan

0815 France HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan

0830 Germany HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan

0900 EU HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan

0930 UK HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan

1445 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp PMIs Flash Jan

1500 US U Mich Sentiment Final Jan

: : EU Consumer Confid. Flash Jan

: : Japan JP BOJ Rate Decision 23 Jan

($1 = 4.0200 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