09/03/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures extended gains on Thursday as investor sentiment brightened on hopes Greece would secure a debt swap deal to avoid a messy default, while promising U.S. jobs data also supported prices. 

An upbeat price outlook for the edible oil, which has risen more than 4 percent so far this year, also underpinned market sentiment.

Palm oil prices are expected to hit 4,000 ringgit by the end of June, leading analyst Dorab Mistry said at a key palm oil conference on Wednesday. Prices have been trading in a range of 3,000-3,300 ringgit this year.

"The bullish price forecast helps to lift futures, right now I don't think there are other major factors," said James Ratnam, an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia.

Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.1 percent to close at 3,303 ringgit ($1,098) per tonne.

Traded volumes were thin at 19,528 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

According to technical charts, palm oil is expected to rebound more to 3,306 ringgit per tonne, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Market players are now shifting their focus to the Malaysian export numbers to gauge the impact of Indonesia's move to slash the export tax on refined palm oil shipments.

Indonesia's tax change was the main talking point of the Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference that ended on Wednesday.

"Last year's exports were easier to predict but this year it's tougher because of the Indonesian tax structure," Ratnam said.

Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance will release Malaysian export data for March 1-10 on Saturday and Monday, respectively.

Oil rose on Thursday, with prices staying above $124 a barrel, on hopes that Greece would win enough creditor support to avoid a messy default on its debt and on continuing fears of supply disruptions from Iran.

In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March delivery was flat in Asian trade and the most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange gained 0.5 percent.      
  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT
                                                                            
  Contract                    Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL           MAR2    3290   +35.00    3255    3290     114
  MY PALM OIL           APR2    3310   +35.00    3262    3313     704
  MY PALM OIL           MAY2    3303   +37.00    3255    3310   11374
  CHINA PALM OLEIN  SEP2    8340   +70.00    8264    8346  107276
  CHINA SOYOIL          SEP2    9360   +44.00    9300    9372  318068
  CBOT SOY OIL          MAY2   53.53    +0.55   52.88   53.70    7939
  NYMEX CRUDE         APR2  106.95    +0.80  105.91  107.16   17503
                                                                            
  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=3.008 Malaysian ringgit)