VEGOILS-Palm oil down on coronavirus concerns, weaker ringgit limits losses
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday as fears of the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak stoked demand worries, though a weaker ringgit limited losses.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 19 ringgit, or 0.84%, to 2,251 ringgit ($524.04) during early trade.
Palm oil had fallen 7% last week to trade at October levels, as panic over the pandemic drove heavy selling across assets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Malaysia palm oil exports for March 1-15 fell 9.6% from the month before, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.
* The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, was 0.43% weaker against the dollar, making the edible oil cheaper for holders of foreign currency.
* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract gained 1.5%, and its palm oil contract rose 1.17%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were trading down 0.57%.
* Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
* Palm oil may fall into a range of 2,100-2,184 ringgit per tonne, as suggested by its wave pattern and a projection analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
MARKET NEWS
* Oil prices extended losses on Monday, slumping by more than $1 a barrel, as an emergency rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to soothe global financial markets panicked by the rapid spread of the coronavirus and mounting economic disruptions.
* Stock markets and the dollar were roiled on Monday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and its major peers offered cheap U.S. dollars to break a logjam in global lending markets.
DATA/EVENTS
0200 China Urban Investment (YTD) YY
0200 China Industrial Output YY
0200 China Retail Sales YY
0630 India WPI Inflation YY
1100 EU Reserve Assets Total U.S. Federal Open Market Committee starts its two-day meeting on interest rates
($1 = 4.2955 ringgit) (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
