MUMBAI: Indian soybean futures dropped on Thursday, tracking a fall in overseas prices and a rise in supplies in the local spot markets.
Soyoil was steady as a drop in palm oil prices outweighed a weak rupee, while rapeseed fell on higher acreage.
At 0824 GMT, Malaysian palm oil futures were down 0.64 percent at 2,316 ringgit per tonne, while US soybeans fell 0.73 percent to $14.26-1/2 per bushel.
India meets more than half of its edible oil requirement through imports, which largely constitute palm oil.
The January soybean contract on India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was down 2.04 percent at 3,295 rupees ($60.35) per 100 kg.
"Sentiments in the world market are weak since China has cancelled some soybean orders. That is putting pressure on meal and edible oil prices," said Subhranil Dey, an analyst with SMC Comtrade.
China, the world's largest buyer of beans, cancelled a contract to purchase 300,000 tonnes of US supplies.
"An improvement in soybean arrivals is also putting pressure, but the downside is limited. Industry expects a pick-up in soymeal exports," Dey said.
India's soymeal exports surged more than ten-fold in November from a month ago on fresh supplies and strong demand from France and Japan.
The January soyoil contract edged up 0.04 percent to 702.6 rupees per 10 kg, while the January rapeseed contract dropped 0.89 percent to 4,210 rupees per 100 kg.
Indian farmers have cultivated rapeseed on 6.36 million hectares as of Dec. 14, compared with 6.16 million hectares during the same period last year.
A weak rupee makes imports of edible oil expensive but also raises returns for oilmeal exporters.
At the Indore spot market in Madhya Pradesh, soyoil nudged down 1.15 rupees to 719.25 rupees per 10 kg, while soybeans eased 14 rupees to 3,334 rupees per 100 kg. At Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, rapeseed jumped 55 rupees to 4,280 rupees.
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