15/06/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slumped to their lowest in 2012 on Thursday as the euro zone debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth triggered a flight of capital from riskier assets. 

Investors were waiting for fresh trading cues from the results of an Italian debt auction and U.S. jobs data later in the day, as well as Greek polls this weekend that could precipitate the country's exit from the bloc. Uncertainty about the global economy pushed Asian shares down on Thursday.

"On the weekend ahead we are going to see the Greek election and market participants are staying away from the market for the time being," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.      

"Fundamentals remain quite encouraging, we have a higher demand and lower stocks. But fundamentals are not taking the front seat as macroeconomic factors are still dominating at the moment." 

Benchmark August palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 3.5 percent to close at 2,846 ringgit ($893) per tonne, the lowest level this year. Futures have lost more than 10 percent this year. 

Prices also dropped below the 2,900-ringgit mark for the first time this year. The market hit a low of 2,838 ringgit earlier in the session, a level unseen since Oct. 20, 2011.  

Traded volumes were high, at 37,755 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots, as investors rushed to liquidate their positions. 

Fundamentals were supportive, with Malaysian palm oil stocks hitting a 13-month low in May, a sign that strong demand was eating into stocks.

Malaysian palm oil exports were lacklustre for June 1-10, but traders expect shipments to pick up as India and Pakistan restock ahead of the Muslim fasting month starting in mid-July.

Cargo surveyors will report export numbers for the first half of the month on Friday.

Lower soybean ending stocks reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday also suggested tighter supply and could provide support for palm oil prices. 

Oil prices held just under $97, with investors and traders reluctant to add to positions ahead of a meeting on Thursday of oil producer group OPEC and Greek polls at the weekend.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July  delivery lost 1.1 percent. The most active Jan 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian commodity exchange closed 2.1 percent lower, the biggest daily drop since May 15, reflecting volatility in the global markets.     

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1009 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      JUN2       0    +0.00    2880       0       0
  MY PALM OIL      JUL2    2839  -107.00    2833    2916    1620
  MY PALM OIL      AUG2    2846  -102.00    2838    2915   20079
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3    7628  -218.00    7624    7772  424010
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN3    9100  -196.00    9098    9222  634538
  CBOT SOY OIL     JUL2   48.58    -0.52   48.53   49.29   10059
  NYMEX CRUDE      JUL2   82.54    -0.09   82.27   83.08   22814

  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=3.187 Malaysian ringgit)