Futures contracts of all components of the edible oil basket edged lower on domestic exchanges today.
Futures contracts of soybean on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange settled nearly 2% lower in line with weakness in key contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade, traders said.
Soybean declined on the US bourse due to the prolonged trade dispute between the US and China.
While the US is the world’s top grower of soybean, China is the largest importer. Refined soyoil contracts on NCDEX and crude palm oil futures on MCX fell around 2% each due to subdued demand at higher prices in wholesale markets.
Weakness in contracts on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives also weighed on domestic crude palm oil prices, analysts said.
Crude palm oil futures on the Malaysian bourse ended more than 3% lower today due to a strong ringgit against the dollar and weak export demand for the commodity. A strong ringgit makes the commodity expensive for buyers holding other currencies. Malaysia is the second largest producer and exporter of the commodity. According to data by AmSpec Agri Malaysia, export of Malaysian palm oil during Nov 1-25 fell 5.2% on month to 1.04 mln tn.
The most-active February palm oil contract on the Malaysian bourse ended at 1,965 ringgits (33,170.30 rupees) per tn, down 79 ringgits from previous close.
A sharp fall was averted as the Indonesian government has temporarily lift an export levy on palm oil products due to a fall in international prices of the commodity.
Mustard futures on NCDEX ended 1.3% lower due to an increase in arrivals and tepid buying from stockists, traders said.  Arrivals across India were estimated at 135,000 bags (1 bag = 85 kg), up 10,000 bags from Saturday,