Indian oilseeds and soyaoil futures were down on Friday afternoon due to profit taking after hitting contract highs in the previous day because of lower supplies in the spot market. Traders said favourable weather condition in Rajasthan, the main mustard growing state, has accelerated sowing, raising hopes of a higher coverage this year for the oilseed crop.
They said demand for soyaoil slowed after Diwali, while the sentiment in soyabean led to selling as the US Department of Agriculture was expected to revise its output forecast upwards. The USDA report is expected later in the day. "Weak fundamentals and absence of any global triggers led to profit bookings," said Prasoon Mathur, a senior analyst with brokerage Religare Commodities. At 0915 GMT, the key December soyabean contract on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) was down 1.5 percent at 3,927 rupees per 100 kg. The key soyaoil contract was down 1.6 percent at 733 rupees per 10 kg. The rapeseed contract for December was 1.0 percent lower at 3,862 rupees per 100 kg.
Malaysian palm oil futures were also weak ahead of a key industry report on output and stock in the world's No 2 producer. By the midday break, the benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had fallen 0.9 percent to 2,522 ringgit ($793) per tonne. At the Indore spot market in Madhya Pradesh, soyabeans fell 19 rupees to 3,948 rupees per 100 kg, soyaoil down about 6 rupees at 746 rupees per 10 kg. At Jaipur in Rajasthan, rapeseed was quoted at around 3,856 rupees, down 16 rupees.