19/04/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Wednesday as investors feared that the euro zone debt crisis could hurt demand for the edible oil, although losses were curbed as a successful Spanish debt sale helped ease some worries.

Global markets including crude oil futures rebounded after Spain's debt auction turned out better than expected, although palm oil investors were not too optimistic especially as Malaysian exports slowed down for the first time after a strong run since early March.

"Traders would have expected it because for the past few weeks we have seen that the export numbers have been quite impressive and we don't expect exports to continue on that trend. There are macroeconomic fears that weigh on exports," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "It's not something that's going to surprise us but a bearish export number is going to weigh on the market."

Benchmark July palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.7 percent to close at 3,479 ringgit ($1,136) per tonne.

Traded volumes stood at 25,759 lots of 25 tonnes each, fewer than the usual 25,000 lots. 

Palm oil is expected to fall to 3,402 ringgit per tonne as it could have completed a consolidation, said Reuters marke analyst Wang Tao.

But tight palm oil stocks in No.2 producer Malaysia remained a bullish factor as it reinforced views that the shortfall in global oilseed supply could worsen amid the drought situation in soy-producing South America.  

Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance will issue export data for April 1-20on Friday, which market watchers expect to remain bearish after a 15 percent fall seen in the first half of April from a month ago.

Brent crude futures held above $118 on Wednesday as optimism in Germany and a successful Spanish debt auction alleviated fears about the euro zone, but the prospect of further talks between Iran and the West continued to ease pressure on the market.

In other vegetable oil markets, the most active U.S. soyoil contract for May lost 0.4 percent while the most active Dalian soyoil September contract was almost flat.

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1009 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      MAY2    3500   -15.00    3491    3515     803
  MY PALM OIL      JUN2    3489   -24.00    3486    3512    5969
  MY PALM OIL      JUL2    3479   -24.00    3474    3501   16778
  CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP2    8854    -4.00    8790    8916  284784
  CHINA SOYOIL     SEP2    9880    +2.00    9800    9960  804234
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAY2   55.56    -0.20   55.47   56.08    6687
  NYMEX CRUDE      MAY2  104.15    -0.05  104.08  104.51   12756

  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=3.063 ringgit)