Indian rapeseed, soyoil futures rise; soy down on poor demand

India's rapeseed and soyoil futures edged higher on Wednesday (March 10) on bargain-buying driven by an estimated fall in rapeseed crop and firmness in Malaysian palm oil, analysts said.

Soy futures erased early gains to end lower tracking weakness in spot market, where demand was tepid.

India's rapeseed output may fall an annual 4.8% to 5.9 million tonnes in 2009-10, a leading trade body said last month.

Malaysian palm oil futures ended more than 1% higher on Wednesday, recouping some losses from the previous day, on expectations that lower stocks would help lift prices.

Meanwhile, India's February oilmeal exports slumped 26% from a year earlier, falling for the fourth straight month on weak demand from Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Japan, a trade body said.

The April soy contract NSBJ0 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange ended down 0.6% at Rs2,010.5 per 100 kg, after hitting a contract low of Rs2,005 earlier in the day.

The spot soy price in Indore, a key market in top producer Madhya Pradesh, dropped Rs12 to Rs2,060.

The April soyoil NSOJ0 finished 0.44% higher at Rs465.4 per 10 kg, while the April rapeseed NRSJ0 climbed 1.39% at Rs477.7 per 20 kg.

Rapeseed arrivals were gaining pace in northern India and may pressure prices in coming weeks, traders said.