30/11/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell to a 2-week low on Thursday, extending losses for a third straight session as weak sentiment dominated the market with investors worrying about record high stocks.

Traders are looking out for Malaysia's palm products export figures for November due on Friday, with expectations of a slight decline compared with a month ago. The latest data for the first 25 days of the month showed a drop of less than 2 percent. 

A lower export demand may push Malaysian inventory levels slightly higher in November despite slowing production.

"The market is still under pressure. Exports should be down by more than 1.5 percent for the month," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.

"People are asking whether production can neutralise exports, and I think it's unlikely that stocks will go up sharply," he added.

At the close, the benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.3 percent to 2,386 ringgit ($782) per tonne. Prices earlier touched a low of 2,367 ringgit, a level last seen on Nov. 14.

Technicals suggested palm oil is expected to test a support at 2,353 ringgit, a break below which will lead to a further drop to 2,288 ringgit.  

Total traded volumes stood at 24,134 lots of 25 tonnes each, thinner than the usual 25,000 lots, as some traders remained on the sidelines ahead of top analysts presenting their price forecasts for 2013 at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association's two-day conference in Bali on Thursday and Friday.

Palm oil output in the world's biggest producer Indonesia is expected to climb 7 percent next year to 27 million tonnes, a top industry association official said on the sidelines of the conference, as three years of acreage expansion efforts bear fruit.

Two trading sources also told Reuters at the conference that India's oilseed industry has submitted a proposal to the government to raise import taxes on palm oil and other edible oils, arguing demand for local output is being hurt after a sharp fall in prices.   

In related markets, Brent crude oil rose on Thursday on optimism that U.S. lawmakers would reach a deal on fiscal policy and as mounting tension in the Middle East intensified supply concerns.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery gained 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active May 2013 soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.2 percent lower. 

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1006 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      DEC2    2170   +10.00    2120    2182     254
  MY PALM OIL      JAN3    2320    -6.00    2297    2337    3714
  MY PALM OIL      FEB3    2386    -8.00    2367    2406   13587
  CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY3    6744   -44.00    6702    6780  649044
  CHINA SOYOIL     MAY3    8590   -20.00    8524    8614  699060
  CBOT SOY OIL     JAN3   50.58    +0.20   50.02   50.60    7902
  NYMEX CRUDE      JAN3   87.31    +0.82   86.55   87.38   15655

  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=3.04 ringgit)