03/04/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded on Tuesday on bargain hunting after the edible oil fell to nearly a three-month low the previous day, while expectations that firm exports could help ease stocks further also provided support.

Palm oil fell to its lowest since Jan. 11 on Monday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a larger-than-expected soybean stockpile, burnishing prospects that soybean oil supply could erode demand for palm oil.

But traders took comfort from rising palm oil exports that could help trim inventories in Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, where stocks stood at 2.44 million tonnes at the end of February.

"Today we see a technical bounce from an oversold market," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "Slightly better export figures may improve expectation of lower stocks, but we need to watch out because the export rise could be due to more working days in March, compared to February."   

By the market close, the benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had gained 1.9 percent to 2,382 ringgit ($772) per tonne. Prices fee as low as 2,335 ringgit on Monday, the lowest in almost three months. Total traded volume stood at 34,406 lots of 25 tonnes each, a tad lower than the average 35,000 lots seen so far this year.

Technical analysis indicated palm oil is expected to hover above a support at 2,339 ringgit for one or two trading sessions, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.

Malaysia's exports of palm oil products inched up 2.8 percent in March to 1.36 million tonnes from a month ago, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday, marking the first monthly rise in four months.

Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a steeper 5.5 percent increase to 1.37 million tonnes. Firm exports raised hopes that palm oil stocks may have eased at a faster pace in March.

Official data on palm oil stocks, output and exports from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the industry regulator, will be released on April 10.

In other markets, Brent crude edged above $111 a barrel on Tuesday as prospects of stronger appetite in Asia countered concerns over the pace of economic recovery in top consumer the United States.

In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery gained 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange also inched up 0.2 percent.   

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1008 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      APR3    2340   +25.00    2311    2340      38
  MY PALM OIL      MAY3    2375   +43.00    2345    2381    4251
  MY PALM OIL      JUN3    2382   +45.00    2350    2392   19075
  CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3    6228   +56.00    6112    6232  663122
  CHINA SOYOIL     SEP3    7876   +16.00    7810    7880  630634
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAY3   50.24    +0.18   49.84   50.28    9018
  NYMEX CRUDE      MAY3   97.13    +0.06   96.62   97.18   16393

  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=3.087 ringgit)