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VEGOILS-Palm futures drop as reducing rival oils, more powerful ringgit weigh

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday, dragged down by weak point in competing veggie oils while a stronger ringgit included pressure to the contract.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 38 ringgit, or 0.75%, to 5,037 ringgit ($ 1,148.17) a metric load at closing.

The agreement is taken down by the easing of soyoil rates in the Dalian Commodity Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader stated.

Dalian's palm oil contract climbed 0.72%, while its most-active soyoil contract slipped 0.25%. Soyoil was down 1.23% at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Malaysian ringgit, the agreement's currency of trade, strengthened 0.38% versus the U.S. dollar, weighing down palm oil futures.

A more powerful ringgit makes palm oil less attractive for foreign currency holders.

India's edible oil imports in November leapt to their highest levels in four months as refiners raised purchases of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil to replenish inventories after robust demand throughout the celebration season, 5 dealers said.

Malaysian palm oil exports in November are seen falling between 9.3% and 10.4%, according to cargo property surveyor Intertek Screening Providers and independent examination company AmSpec Agri Malaysia.

Indonesia raised its crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for December to $1,071.67 a metric lot from $961.97 in November, putting the export tax higher at $178 per lot.

(source: Reuters)