23/03/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose to their highest in a month on Friday and posted a 3.3 percent weekly gain as hopes of export demand whittling down stocks offset uncertainty in Europe.   

Data this week has lifted expectations of market participants that exports of palm oil will climb and help ease the 2.44-million-tonne stock buildup in Malaysia, the world's No.2 producer of the edible oil. 

"Exports in March should be much better than February's. With exports up and production going down, end-stocks in March could go below 2.35 million tonnes," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

The market was also supported by leading analyst Dorab Mistry's projection that palm oil futures could trade between 2,400 and 2,700 ringgit per tonne by the end of May, an upward revision from his previous forecast.           

The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.6 percent to close at 2,494 ringgit ($802) per tonne, off an earlier high of 2,503 ringgit, the highest level since Feb. 22.

Total traded volume stood at 43,725 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

Also playing on general market sentiment were concerns about a possible debt default by Cyprus, which could hit the euro zone's fragile recovery and crimp edible oil demand.

But for the week, palm oil futures still posted a 3.3 percent gain as a rise in exports offset caution over macroeconomic uncertainty.

Traders will be looking out for the next export data due on Monday as they say demand needs to pick up faster to bring stockpiles to comfortable levels. Record stocks last year had dragged prices down more than 20 percent, palm's worst performance since the 2008 global financial crisis.   

In other markets, Brent crude held above $107 a barrel, but was still on track for a second straight week of losses, as Cyprus scrambled to raise money to avert a financial meltdown that could disrupt the euro zone's recovery and diminish its oil demand.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery was almost flat in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange inched down 1 percent.   

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1007 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      APR3    2462   +26.00    2430    2470     331
  MY PALM OIL      MAY3    2483   +34.00    2447    2493    4556
  MY PALM OIL      JUN3    2494   +38.00    2457    2503   21259
  CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3    6386   -40.00    6370    6448  434108
  CHINA SOYOIL     SEP3    8082   -78.00    8080    8172  584072
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAY3   50.44    +0.02   50.18   50.50    5171
  NYMEX CRUDE      MAY3   92.67    +0.22   92.33   92.74   12503

  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=3.11 ringgit)