16/03/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up to another nine-month high on Thursday, as strong export numbers painted a rosy demand outlook for the edible oil and as soybean supply fears in South America supported prices.

An improvement in Malaysian exports for the first 15 days of March has helped palm oil extend its gains to 7.2 percent this year, while positive news such as the Greek debt swap deal and improving U.S. retail sales have also lifted sentiment.

"Generally external markets have been quite strong and news on the external front has been quite positive. Soybean prices are also in an uptrend, lifted partly by improving confidence in the global economy," said Ivy Ng, an analyst at Malaysia's CIMB Investment Bank.

"On top of that, people are a bit concerned in view of the continuous downgrade of the South American soybean crop, so this could prompt them to try to buy ahead."

Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.5 percent to close at 3,403 ringgit ($1,114) per tonne. Prices touched a new peak of 3,415 ringgit, a level not seen since last June.

Traded volumes on Thursday stood at 23,594 lots of 25 tonnes each slightly less than the usual 25,000 lots.

On the technicals front, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said palm oil faces resistance at 3,398 ringgit per tonne, a break above which would open the way towards 3,440 ringgit.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported a 37 percent month-on-month increase in Malaysian exports for the first 15 days of March to 697,804 tonnes, pointing to brightening demand prospects.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a higher 42 percent jump in exports for the same period to 701,536 tonnes.

Market players are keeping a close watch on the official planting forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture due at the end of the month to help gauge of soybean output for the year.

Lower soybean output would help support prices of palm oil as it competes with crushed soybean oil for use in the food and fuel sectors.

In other vegetable oil markets, the most active U.S. soyoil contract for May delivery inched up 0.7 percent on concerns over the South American drought hurting soy crops. The most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange lost 0.1 percent.     

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1004 GMT
                                                                            
  Contract                   Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL           MAR2    3420   +44.00    3420    3420       9
  MY PALM OIL           APR2    3393   +13.00    3385    3411     902
  MY PALM OIL           MAY2    3403   +18.00    3383    3415   10681
  CHINA PALM OLEIN  SEP2    8614   -10.00    8572    8664  276508
  CHINA SOYOIL         SEP2    9640    -6.00    9600    9686  611450
  CBOT SOY OIL         MAY2   55.19    +0.39   54.74   55.20    9305
  NYMEX CRUDE        APR2  105.51    +0.08  105.26  105.95   18423
                                                                            
  Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne
  CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound
  Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne
  Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel
  ($1=3.055 ringgit)