04/02/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Monday and were set for a fourth straight session of gains, tracking higher soybeans and soybean oil on persistent concerns over dry weather in Argentina.

U.S. soybeans were trading near a six-week high despite scattered showers in Argentina in recent weeks that have brought some relief to thirsty 2012/13 soybean crops, as many areas are still suffering parched conditions, the Argentine agriculture ministry said.

Lower soybean and soybean oil production could shift some demand to the cheaper palm oil, which in turn may help ease record stocks for the tropical oil.

"It's the South American weather that is serving as the pull factor," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

"Locally, with a continuous wide discount in cash crude palm oil to futures, sentiment is still cautious as traders await the expected high stocks for January."

By the midday break, the benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.7 percent to 2,575 ringgit ($831) per tonne. Prices hit a 3-month high at 2,593 ringgit on Thursday.

Total traded volumes stood at 12,129 lots of 25 tonnes each, thinner than the usual 12,500 tonnes. 

Technical analysis shows palm oil is expected to keep rising to 2,639 ringgit, as it has cleared resistance at 2,567 ringgit per tonne, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Traders are shifting their focus to Malaysia's palm oil stocks for January, hoping that slowing production and better-than-expected exports will bring down record stocks of 2.63 million tonnes recorded for December.

Malaysian palm exports in January fell 7 percent from a month ago, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services, while another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a 6.4 percent fall. 

That represented an improvement from the double-digit decline seen in the first 20 days of January, as worries eased over China's stricter regulation on edible oil imports after the first cargo from Malaysia was discharged.   

Brent crude steadied above $116 per barrel on Monday, holding near a more than four-month high, as data from top consumers the United States and China reinforced a view that the global economy was headed for a modest uptick this year.

Other vegetable oil markets also advanced on Argentine weather concerns. U.S. soyoil for March delivery gained 0.8 percent in early Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange edged up 1 percent near a 3-month high.     

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0529 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      FEB3    2515    +3.00    2515    2550      81
  MY PALM OIL      MAR3    2548   +20.00    2548    2563    1609
  MY PALM OIL      APR3    2575   +18.00    2571    2592    6160
  CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3    7230   +56.00    7192    7252  291564
  CHINA SOYOIL     SEP3    8914   +84.00    8842    8932  284644
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAR3   53.39    +0.40   53.10   53.40    4173
  NYMEX CRUDE      MAR3   97.53    -0.24   97.44   97.76    3457

  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=3.099 ringgit)

(Corrects source in paragraph 2 to Argentine agriculture ministry, not U.S. agriculture ministry)