19/06/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Monday after Greece's pro-bailout parties won closely-watched elections over the weekend, preventing the euro zone debt crisis from escalating and reviving risk appetite.

The victory reduces the probability of the debt-laden nation leaving the euro zone, perking up investor sentiment across broader equities and commodities markets.

"Generally, the elections in Greece have set a positive tone for the commodities market. At least we see some relief in the euro zone," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"But this doesn't spell the end of the debt crisis as investors are still worried about Italy and Spain. Optimism could fade away pretty quickly.

Benchmark September palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.3 percent to close at 2,899 ringgit ($919) per tonne, after rising as high as 2,901 ringgit. Prices touched a low of 2,839 ringgit on Friday, a level unseen since Oct. 20, 2011.

Traded volumes stood at 32,173 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots, as activity picked up after the midday break.

On the technicals front, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao posted a bearish view, saying palm oil was expected to fall to 2,790 ringgit per tonne.

But fundamentals remain supportive as Malaysian palm oil exports recorded a double-digit jump for the June 1-15 period from a month ago, as major food buyer China ramped up buying.

Traders also attributed the higher shipments to restocking in India and Pakistan ahead of the Muslim fasting month starting in mid-July.

Cargo surveyors will issue exports data for June 1-20 on Wednesday.

Palm oil stock levels remain supportive, with Malaysian palm oil stocks hitting a 13-month low in May, suggesting strong demand was eating into stocks.

Oil futures fell on Monday, erasing early gains after the victory for pro-bailout parties in Greece failed to ease concerns about the euro zone, and analysts said oversupplied crude markets would cope with any loss of Iranian oil.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July  delivery and the most active Jan 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian commodity exchange edged up 1.1 percent.

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1001 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      JUL2    2871   +30.00    2861    2880     928
  MY PALM OIL      AUG2    2890   +42.00    2866    2896    7542
  MY PALM OIL      SEP2    2899   +50.00    2869    2901   18560
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3    7742   +90.00    7676    7754  372586
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN3    9232  +104.00    9162    9242  483230
  CBOT SOY OIL     JUL2   48.94    +0.50   48.67   49.89   13389
  NYMEX CRUDE      JUL2   83.98    -0.05   83.66   85.60   24564

  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=3.156 Malaysian ringgit)