Palm oil down with outside markets

ROTTERDAM: Asking prices for palm oil on the European vegetable oil market continued lower on Tuesday on follow-through technical selling in sympathy with weaker outside markets and fears of a renewed euro crisis following Italian elections.

"Prospects of a bumper soybean crop, forecasts for a larger German rapeseed crop and worries that a political stalemate in Italy could cause a new euro crisis kept the market under pressure and buyers sidelined," one broker said.

Palm oil was offered between $5 and $15 a tonne down from Monday after Malaysian palm oil futures closed between 31 and 69 ringgit per tonne down in sympathy with weakness in rival soyoil and lower mineral oil values.

April/June RBD palm olein changed hands between $832.50 and $822.50 a tonne fob Malaysia, down $12.50 from Monday, July/Sept traded $17.50 down between $837.50 and $825, Oct/Dec fetched between at $840 and $835, down $7.50 and $847.50 was paid for Jan/March.

Crude palm oil traded at $850 a tonne cif Rotterdam for April/June and July/Sept changed hands at $857.50, while Feb shipment was switched into March shipment at even money.

At 1700 GMT CBOT soyoil was between 1.02 and 0.97 cents per lb down on continued long liquidation on the back of prospects for a bumper South American crop and a fall in mineral oil levels.

Liquid oils - soyoil, sunoil and rapeoil - were offered a tad firmer on bargain hunting and because of the strength of the dollar, which supported euro-priced products.

May/July EU rapeoil traded eight euros per tonne up from Monday at 895 and 900 euros per tonne fob exmill and Aug/Oct changed hands at $882 and $885, up four euros.

EU sunoil traded at $1,237.50 and $1,235 a tonne extank for July/September.

Lauric oils remained mostly undiscussed with asking prices between $5 and $15 a tonne down from Monday in sympathy with palm oil. But sellers not buyers were in the mood to do business and no deals were reported.