16/01/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Tuesday, tracking increases in the price of rival soybean oil, but gains were capped by persistently weak exports and record high stocks in the world's second largest producer of the edible oil.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Jan. 1 to 15 fell 20.7 percent to 570,510 tonnes from a month earlier, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Tuesday.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a steeper 22.2 percent fall for the same period. Shipments were also lower in the first 10 days of the month.

The drop came amid China's stricter quality control rules on edible oil imports that may have prompted some exporters to hold back shipments.

Exports to Europe also took a hit as buyers refrain from purchasing palm oil, which solidifies in winter.   

"The market is up a bit, tracking gains in Dalian and Chicago soybean oil," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "Exports were down but they were slightly better than the first 10 days and we hope for further improvement in the second half of the month."

The benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.1 percent to close at 2,397 ringgit ($796) per tonne, taking its cue from U.S. March soyoil futures, which had gained 2.5 percent in the previous session as bargain hunting and hopes of Chinese buying boosted soybeans.

Total traded volume stood at 42,040 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

Technical analysis shows mixed signals for Malaysian palm oil as it is not clear that a downtrend starting from the Jan. 2 high of 2,524 ringgit will be reversed, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.

Malaysia will set its crude palm oil export tax for February at zero percent, unchanged from January, a government circular showed on Tuesday, and traders hope the zero percent tax will help clear record-high palm oil stocks, which stood at 2.63 million tonnes in December.

Brent crude rose above $112 per barrel on Tuesday, although a lack of an agreement over the U.S. debt ceiling and a forecast increase in the country's oil inventory still weighed on prices.

U.S. soyoil for March delivery edged 0.2 percent higher in late Asian trade. The most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.5 percent higher.    

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1010 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      JAN3    2330   +54.00    2298    2330      42
  MY PALM OIL      FEB3    2375   +35.00    2355    2380     677
  MY PALM OIL      MAR3    2397   +26.00    2382    2413   15129
  CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY3    6726   +24.00    6718    6788  464414
  CHINA SOYOIL     MAY3    8594   +44.00    8584    8658  306024
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAR3   50.56    +0.11   50.38   50.79    7887
  NYMEX CRUDE      FEB3   94.35    +0.21   93.71   94.44   19947

  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=3.01 ringgit)