CORRECTED-VEGOILS-Palm set for weekly drop, weighed down by rival oils

(Corrects headline and first paragraph to show palm is set for a weekly drop, not a third weekly drop) JAKARTA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures declined for a fourth straight session on Friday and were set to post a weekly drop as sluggish demand from top buyer India and losses in Dalian vegetable oils pressured prices. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 42 ringgit, or 1%, to 4,144 ringgit ($921.09) a metric ton by midday. The contract fell to its lowest in more than three months earlier in the session, losing 4.67% this week. "Lower imports by top buyer India are a major concern for the palm oil market, especially as competition intensifies from cheaper soyoil and rapeseed oil, which are attracting increasing demand," a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house said. Palm oil imports by India, the world's biggest importer of the edible oil, are set to plunge to a near five-year low in January on negative refining margins as the tropical oil's premium over rivals drives buyers to more competitively priced soyoil, government and industry officials told Reuters. Meanwhile, Indonesia is temporarily freezing the distribution of subsidies for mandatory palm oil biodiesel and re-planting programmes due to a reorganisation at its palm oil fund agency, an official said, while hoping the transition can be concluded as quickly as possible. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 lost 1.84%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 fell 1.31%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOc2 gained 0.68%. Palm oil tracks price movements in rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Jan. 1-15 are estimated to have fallen between 15.5% and 23.7%, according to cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia. Palm oil FCPOc3 may fall further into the 3,947-4,045 ringgit per metric ton range, driven by a wave C, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C ($1 = 4.4990 ringgit) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cpo https://tmsnrt.rs/42dVXXt ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Bernadette Christina in Jakarta and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sumana Nandy) (([email protected])) ((For a table on Malaysian physical palm oil prices, including refined oil, Reuters Terminal users can double click on or type OILS/MY01 . * To view freight rates from Peninsula Malaysia/Sumatra to China, India, Pakistan and Rotterdam, please key in OILS/ASIA2 and press enter, or double click between the brackets. * Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures edible oil prices by double clicking on the codes in the brackets: To go to the next page in the same chain, hit F12. To go back, hit F11. Vegetable oils OILS/ASIA1 Malaysian palm oil exports SGSPALM1 CBOT soyoil futures 0#BO: CBOT soybean futures 0#S: Indian solvent SOLVENT01 Dalian Commodity Exchange DC/MENU Dalian soyoil futures 0#DBY: Dalian refined palm oil futures 0#DCP: Zhengzhou rapeseed oil 0#COI: European edible oil prices/trades OILS/E ))