RTRS-Malaysia's Jan palm oil stocks fall to five-month low

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Malaysia's January palm oil stocks slipped to a five-month low as a decline in production outpaced a drop in exports, industry regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board said on Friday.

Stocks in the world's No. 2 producer of the edible oil fell 2.5 percent to 2.0 million tonnes from December last year, almost matching market expectations of a 2.2 percent drop.

The still-high inventories can potentially shore up global edible oil supply in the wake of erratic weather affecting soy crops in south America. Benchmark palm oil futures <0#FCPO:> on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange may come under some pressure after losing 0.8 percent at midday ahead of the data release.

RTRS-INDIA'S JAN PALM OIL IMPORTS SEEN UP 3.1 PCT VS DEC, SOYOIL IMPORTS SEEN UP

NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports may have risen in January over the previous month as domestic supplies run out, a Reuters survey showed on Friday, but the imports could fall this month with start of the rapeseed harvest season.

Palm oil imports -- the bulk of India's edible oil purchases -- rose 3.1 percent last month to 569,750 tonnes, according to the survey of eight traders, with soyoil imports seen up 360.3 percent to 34,000 tonnes over December.

India mainly buys palm oils from Indonesia and Malaysia, and small quantities of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil. About half of India's 15-16 million tonnes of edible oils demand is met through imports.

The survey suggested total vegetable oil imports, including non-edible oils, would rise 6.6 percent in January to 714,375 tonnes from the previous month.

RTRS-IRAN HAS NOT APPROACHED MALAYSIA FOR BARTER DEALS TO SAFEGUARD PALM OIL SUPPLIES-MALAYSIA GOV'T SOURCES

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Iran has not approached Malaysia for barter deals to keep its palm oil supplies flowing as Western financial sanctions hurt it ability to pay for imported food staples, two Malaysian government sources told Reuters on Friday.

One of the sources said Malaysia is no longer keen to do barter trades after facing problems in a deal with North Korea in 2009 when $20 million worth of palm oil was to be exchanged for cash and fertiliser components.

"No matter how you do it, these countries don't have enough to barter. So Malaysia is not going to do barter trades for the time being," said the source, who had direct knowledge of the matter.

"We are more concerned if there are declines in exports in our top markets like India and China rather than Iran," the source added, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

RTRS-China Jan soy imports down 15 pct vs Dec - customs

BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - China, the world's top soy buyer, imported 4.61 million tonnes of the oilseed in January, down 15 percent from 5.42 million tonnes in December, as crushers reduced imports during a holiday shutdown, figures from the General Administration of Customs of China showed on Friday.

On an annual basis, soy imports fell 10.2 percent in January, largely due to seasonal factors as the Lunar New Year fell in January this year but in February last year. Soy plants across the country typically close during the week-long holiday.

The seasonal distortion makes the January data particularly hard to read but after stripping away the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, average weekly import volumes in January rose 13 percent from the preceding month.

Demand for soy, used as a cooking oil and feedstock for pigs, typically jumps ahead of festive seasons, but confronted by climbing stocks and a post-holiday demand lull, analysts said imports could weaken in February before rebounding in March as farmers start to restock hogs.

"Global soybean prices are also on the high side, which should prevent China from going all out with imports in the coming weeks," said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Trader's Highlight

DJI- NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage decline thus far in 2012 on Friday after an about-face on Greece's long-awaited debt deal ended a five-week streak of gains for equities.

All but one of the 30 Dow components ended lower while all 10 S&P sectors fell, with cyclical sectors such as energy, financials and materials the biggest losers.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 89.23 points, or 0.69 percent, at 12,801.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 9.31 points, or 0.69 percent, at 1,342.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23.35 points, or 0.80 percent, at 2,903.88.

NYMEX- NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Friday for the first time in four sessions after a far-right party in Greece refused to sign off on austerity measures, denting the country's efforts to secure an EU-IMF bailout package to avoid a crippling debt default.

But late in the day, the Greek cabinet approved a draft bill commiting Greece to reforms the EU and the IMF require in return for the bailout package. A parliamentary vote was set for Sunday, keeping hopes alive that the country would not fall into default.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for March delivery settled at $98.67 a barrel, falling $1.17, or 1.17 percent. For the week, U.S. front-month crude rose 83 cents, or 0.85 percent from the $97.84 close on Feb. 3.

CBOT SOYBEANS- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed firm on Friday after spending most of the session in the red, with the market rallying into the closing bell on a late flurry of buying.

Traders attributed the late-day rally variously to worries about hot and dry conditions in southern Brazil, traders buying soybeans against corn on intermarket spreads, and talk of Brazil increasing its biodiesel mandate later this year.

Soyoil gained relative to soymeal. Soybeans and other commodities were pressured for most of the session by a surge in the U.S. dollar as the euro fell after another snag in negotiations for a financial bailout package for Greece.

CBOT soybeans unofficially ended the week down 0.3 percent, snapping a three-week advance.

FCPO- SINGAPORE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil fell on Friday on the back of a bearish U.S. crop report and prospects of slowing demand, although losses were capped by a long-awaited bailout deal for Greece which has yet to be
approved.

The U.S Department of Agriculture on Thursday forecast larger-than-expected soybean supplies in its monthly report even as a severe drought curbed yields in Brazil and Argentina, putting pressure on palm oil prices, which track soybean oil closely.

The market's a little bearish because it expects a steeper production drop in the South American crop," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

However, the low production season in the first quarter and improving demand from China and India should support crude palm oil prices in the range of 3,000 to 3,200 ringgit in the near term," added the dealer.

Benchmark April palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.5 percent to close at 3,131 ringgit ($1,034) per tonne. The futures market has lost 1.4 percent so far this year. Traded volumes were thin at 22,375 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock indexes were mostly weaker on Friday as investors, awaiting a rescue package for Greece, trimmed positions in risky assets.

Jakarta's Composite Index shed 1.67 percent, falling at one point to the lowest since Jan. 16. One factor dragging it down was banks, hit by Bank Indonesia's unexpected decision on Thursday to cut the benchmark interest rates.

Some analysts said the rate cut dampened margin outlooks of banks and broad sentiment of the sector. Still, there was some optimism about the selling of bank shares did not signal the end of a bull market.

In Singapore, property developer CapitaLand Ltd and commodities firm Olam International pulled back after recent gains. CapitaLand fell 3.1 percent while Olam was down 2.9 percent.

Among weak spots, palm plantation firm Sime Darby Bhd edged down 0.3 percent and Thai petrochemical firm PTT Global Chemical Pcl fell 1.4 percent. They had rallied early this week.