KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Reuters) -Malaysian palm oil futures traded sideways on Thursday, weighed down by weakness in overnight Chicago soyoil and crude prices.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 10 ringgit, or 0.23%, to 4,301 ringgit ($999.77) a metric ton in early trade.

The market opened flat this morning as it was weighed down by weakness in overnight Chicago soyoil and crude prices, said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 rose 0.41%, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 added 0.47%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were up 0.14%.

* Palm oil tracks price movements of rival edible oils as they compete for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

* Oil prices rose in early Asian trade, paring sharp losses over the past two sessions, after industry data showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. O/R

* Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

* The ringgit MYR=, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.23% against the U.S. dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

* European Union ambassadors agreed to delay the implementation of the landmark deforestation law by a year till the end of December 2025, they said in a statement.

* Palm oil may fall to 4,206 ringgit per metric ton, following its failure to break resistance at 4,346 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares steadied on Thursday ahead of a housing policy briefing in China that has raised expectations of support for the ailing property sector, while the dollar stood near 2-1/2 month highs on the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS

0430 Japan Tertiary Ind Act NSA Aug

0900 EU Total Trade Balance SA Aug

0900 EU HICP Final MM Sept

0900 EU HICP Final YY Sept

1215 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Oct

1215 EU ECB Deposit Rate Oct

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 12 Oct, w/e

1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx Oct

1230 US Retail Sales MM Sept

1315 US Industrial Production MM Sept

($1 = 4.3020 ringgit)

Reporting by Ashley Tang; Editing by Sumana Nandy

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