February 9, 2009

Indian soyoil futures rose on Friday (Feb 6) tracking a rally in soy futures and a rise in spot demand as traders bought aggressively expecting a lower crop in Argentina, the world's leading soyoil exporter.

The February contract NSOG9 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 1.30 percent at Rp466 (US$9.60) per 10 kilogrammes. March futures had risen 1.66 percent to 455.20 rupees.

But gains were limited due to lack in lustre trade in Malaysian palm oil, and edible oil import tenders by state-owned firms.

Prices in the spot market in the central city of Indore, a hub for soyoil trade in India, rose 1.9 percent to Rp42,400 per tonne.

A Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade senior official said the uncertainty about Argentine crop is pushing up demand for soyoil in India.

Argentina's soy production in 2008/09 was lowered to 42.5 million tonnes as a result of a smaller harvested area and a drop in yield due to severe drought, according to USDA.