07/06/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains on Wednesday, as investors bet on rising Asian demand for the edible oil, although caution prevailed, inspired by concerns the euro zone crisis will crimp economic growth and commodity demand.

Palm oil closed at its lowest level in 2012 on Monday, setting the stage for a price recovery as market players went bargain hunting.

"After the shock on Monday, for the past two days prices have recovered lost ground. But on the backdrop, the euro zone problem is still not solved," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"So although we are going to see some rebound, it's likely that investors will adopt a cautious attitude. They are more concerned about the upcoming Malaysian Palm Oil Board data to gauge the extent of the impact of the crisis."

Benchmark August palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.3 percent to close at 3,003 ringgit ($946) per tonne. Prices touched a low of 2,925 ringgit on Monday, their lowest since Nov 2, 2011. 

Traded volumes stood at 25,208 lots of 25 tonnes each, just slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

On the technicals front, signals are mixed for palm oil based on a wave analysis, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Demand for the tropical oil remained firm in May as Muslims prepare to observe a month of fasting starting in mid-July. Cargo surveyors will release export data on Monday for the first 10 days of June. 

Market players are betting on lower stock levels in Malaysia as exports cut into stocks. Industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board will issue official stocks data, also on June 11. 

Investors will be awaiting a speech by top industry analyst Dorab Mistry at a palm oil trade fair in India on Thursday.

Traders said market volatility could continue due to the ongoing euro zone crisis and the market is closely watching the Greece election on June 17 that will decide the nation's fate. 

Oil rose toward $100 a barrel on Wednesday as supportive economic and crude stocks data from the United States outweighed pressure from Europe's lingering debt crisis.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery gained 1.3 percent in late Asian trade while the most active Jan 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian commodity exchange gained 0.8 percent. 

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1001 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      JUN2    2985   +32.00    2985    3000     334
  MY PALM OIL      JUL2    3003   +43.00    2992    3013    1761
  MY PALM OIL      AUG2    3003   +37.00    2993    3026   14634
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3    7742   +26.00    7690    7802  223252
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN3    9124   +76.00    9062    9174  464062
  CBOT SOY OIL     JUL2   49.14    +0.64   48.60   49.29    8680
  NYMEX CRUDE      JUL2   85.05    +0.76   84.03   85.39   25234

  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=3.174 Malaysian ringgit)