22/02/2012 (Business Recorder) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures eased slightly on Tuesday as traders booked profits after the edible oil hit an eight-month high the previous day, although losses were limited by a Greek bailout deal.

Eurozone finance ministers struck a deal on early Tuesday for a second bailout programme for debt-laden Greece, providing temporary relief and lifting investor sentiment.

Demand prospects for the tropical oil were also looking up as latest data indicated an improvement in the pace of export.

"At the moment we have seen a bit of optimism as the European financial ministers have agreed on a Greek bailout," said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

By the midday break, benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange eased 0.1 percent to 3,242 ringgit ($1,075) per tonne.

Prices hit a high of 3,276 ringgit on Monday, highest since June last year.

Traded volumes stood at 11,627 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly thinner than the usual 12,500 lots.

Reuters analyst Wang Tao said a bullish target at 3,322 ringgit has been modified to 3,292 ringgit for palm oil due to a retracement from the Monday high of 3,276 ringgit.

Some market players expect improving demand prospects for palm oil to lift the futures market, which has gained 2.1 percent so far this year.

"The futures market should continue the uptrend with bullish expectation on remaining February export," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.

Malaysian palm oil exports from February 1 to 20 eased just 2 percent and 0.6 percent from a month ago, according to cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance, respectively, compared to a 14 percent decline for the first 15 days of the month.

Crude palm oil exports picked up from near-zero levels in the beginning of the month, with traders attributing the rise to tax-free export quotas of 3 million tonnes issued early this February after weeks of delay.

Brent crude futures held steady near $120 a barrel on Tuesday as the euro zone approved a second bailout package for debt-laden Greece, while a cut in Chinese and European imports of Iranian oil supported prices.

The US soyoil contract for March delivery gained 0.5 percent on the first day of trading after a long weekend while the most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange edged down 0.2 percent.