15/02/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose to more-than-a-month high on Tuesday, tracking a rally in U.S. soybeans on investor concern that hot, dry weather in South America could hurt production.

A weaker ringgit currency against the U.S. dollar also raised demand prospects for crude palm oil as the ringgit-priced feedstock now seems cheaper, helping the vegetable oil erase earlier losses to trade marginally higher this year.

"External factors are still uncertain and we will have to look at export numbers to see if the market will breach 3,200 ringgit," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur, referring to Malaysian export data for Feb. 1-15 which will be released on Wednesday.

Benchmark April palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 1.2 percent to 3,205 ringgit ($1,053), a level last seen on Jan. 12.

Traded volumes stood at 25,490 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

Reuters market analyst Wang Tao took a bullish view, saying palm oil is expected to rise to 3,196 ringgit per tonne based on chart analysis.

The market is watchful of weak demand for Malaysian crude palm oil as the feedstock is now selling at a steeper discount to futures prices, traders said.

Cargo surveyors are set to issue Feb 1-15 Malaysian palm oil exports on Wednesday after reporting single digit declines in the first ten days of this month.

Some traders attributed the decline in exports to the shift in orders to top producer Indonesia, which is selling at a discount due to its tax structure.

But the market also expects crude palm oil exports to pick up in coming weeks after Malaysia issued its tax-free export quotas of 3 million tonnes.

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after ratings agency Moody's downgraded six countries in Europe prompting renewed investor concerns about demand in the region, but prices were underpinned by fears of supply disruption in the Middle East.

The U.S. soyoil contract for March delivery  was slightly down 0.2 percent in Asian trade after an earlier rally, driven by concerns of dryness in Brazil that could further damage the soy crop.

The most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange ended flat.     
       
  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1010 GMT
                                                                          
  Contract                   Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL           FEB2    3160   +30.00    3140    3160     205
  MY PALM OIL           MAR2    3190   +30.00    3158    3190    1099
  MY PALM OIL           APR2    3205   +37.00    3155    3205    9948
  CHINA PALM OLEIN  SEP2    8260    +4.00    8250    8312   93920
  CHINA SOYOIL         SEP2    9310    +0.00    9302    9376  338218
  CBOT SOY OIL         MAR2   53.01    -0.04   52.70   53.05    6260
  NYMEX CRUDE        MAR2  101.33    +0.42  100.37  101.38   22310
                                                                          
  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

      
* Bursa Malaysia holds its annual Palm and Lauric Oils
Conference & Exhibition Price Outlook 2012 from March 5 to 7 in
Kuala Lumpur. For details, see www.pocmalaysia.com
($1 = 3.0445 ringgit)