15/12/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rebound on Friday from the previous day's three-year low but prices still posted their fourth consecutive weekly loss as worries persisted over record high stocks.

For the week, palm oil lost almost 1 percent after slumping to the lowest since November 2009 on Thursday. Sluggish global economic growth, which hurt commodity demand, has also put the edible oil on track for the steepest annual loss since 2008.   

"Concerns about large stockpiles are still hovering despite the fact that, on the financial market side, we have further stimulus coming from the U.S. Fed and some speculation that Japan may expand its asset purchasing programme," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"For today we see some kind of a relief rally after yesterday's drop, but the fundamentals are still the same."

At the close, the benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 2.1 percent to 2,276 ringgit ($746) per tonne. Prices fell to 2,217 ringgit the previous day, a level unseen since November 2009. 

Total traded volumes stood at 44,837 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

Traders will be looking out for Malaysia's export data for the first half of December, hoping for a stronger export demand after cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported a 2.8 percent slide in shipments for the Dec. 1-10 period.

They are also waiting for Malaysia's new January crude palm oil export tax set to be announced on Monday, with analysts expecting it to be set at zero, a level that could boost export demand and help bring stocks down.   

In a bullish sign for palm oil, Brent crude rose toward $109 a barrel on Friday on a brighter outlook for China's economy, the world's second largest oil consumer, but worries about the impact of a possible U.S. fiscal crisis capped price gains.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for January delivery gained 1.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most active May 2013 soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also closed 1.4 percent higher.

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1003 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      DEC2    2100   +58.00    2100    2100      80
  MY PALM OIL      JAN3    2195   +53.00    2153    2195    1737
  MY PALM OIL      FEB3    2276   +46.00    2232    2285   14355
  CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY3    6788   +86.00    6682    6798  532150
  CHINA SOYOIL     MAY3    8732  +118.00    8586    8738  609228
  CBOT SOY OIL     JAN3   49.67    +0.67   48.91   49.71   11726
  NYMEX CRUDE      JAN3   86.77    +0.88   86.07   86.92   14048

  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=3.05 Malaysian ringgit)