Indian oilseeds and soyaoil futures edged up on Monday on short-covering, driven by gains in the world market and on a weak rupee, though timely progress of the monsoon capped the upside. At 0758 GMT, the benchmark Malaysian palm oil contract was down 0.13 percent at 2,394 ringgit per tonne, while US soyabeans were 1.14 percent higher at $15.27-1/4 per bushel.
"Timely arrival of monsoon rains is good news. Farmers can plant soyabeans on time. Even there are chances of higher acreage as farmers got higher returns from last year's crop," said Prasoon Mathur, a senior analyst with Religare Commodities. India's monsoon arrived on cue in Kerala on the southern coast on Saturday, a top weather official said. Indian farmers are expected to increase soyabean planting in 2013/14, encouraged by a rally in prices and the need to cultivate a sturdy crop to prepare for the possibility of an unhelpful monsoon season.
The key July soyaoil contract on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 0.07 percent at 689.75 rupees per 10 kg. The key July soyabean contract rose 0.30 percent to 3,666.50 rupees per 100 kg, while the rapeseed contract for July edged up 0.26 percent to 3,526 rupees per 100 kg. A weak rupee makes edible oil imports expensive but also raises returns for oil meal exporters. The local currency eased on Monday. India's soyameal exports in April sank 67 percent from a month earlier to 99,451 tonnes, dropping for a third straight month as farmers held back stocks in a move that tightened supply and boosted prices of the animal feed.