17/08/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up to a near 2-week high on Thursday as exports staged a tentative recovery, signalling stocks could come under pressure.

Futures had dropped on Tuesday to the lowest since last October, as higher output and slower exports initially raised concerns over swelling stocks in Malaysia. 

But prices recovered after Wednesday's export data showed signs of recovery for the first half of August, which could put pressure on stocks that hit a 5-month high in July.

"It looks like there has been some profit-taking from traders who shorted a few days back. After all, the market has come down by almost 300 ringgit," said a Singapore-based trader with a foreign commodities house.

The benchmark November palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.4 percent to close at 2,942 ringgit ($941) per tonne, just off a high of 2,948 ringgit, a level last seen on Aug. 3.

The contract hit a low of 2,820 ringgit on Tuesday, a level not seen since Oct. 18 last year.

Total traded volumes stood at 30,017 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

But sentiment remained cautious remained ahead of a long weekend, with Malaysian markets closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr that brings to a close the fasting month of Ramadan.

Malaysia's palm oil exports in the Aug. 1-15 period rose 7.6 percent from a month ago, thanks to higher shipments to China and India, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a rise of 10.3 percent for the same period.

The market is also watching for a possible return of the El Nino weather pattern by the end of the year as the dry weather it brings could damage oil palm crops in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia.    

Crude oil steadied near three-month highs on Thursday, supported by worries over possible disruptions to supply from the Middle East and a steep fall in U.S. oil inventories.

In other vegetable oil markets, the most active U.S. soyoil contract for December delivery was almost flat by 1006 GMT. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.1 percent lower.      

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      SEP2    2860   +49.00    2798    2860    1169
  MY PALM OIL      OCT2    2910   +48.00    2846    2910    9020
  MY PALM OIL      NOV2    2942   +41.00    2882    2948   15731
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3    7736   +44.00    7680    7750  287284
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN3    9654   -10.00    9642    9708  394914
  CBOT SOY OIL     DEC2   53.69    -0.02   53.46   53.82    4893
  NYMEX CRUDE      SEP2   94.20    -0.13   93.93   94.61   16156

  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=3.13 ringgit)