VEGOILS-Palm oil rises on softer ringgit

* Ringgit weakness lifts palm

* Market has bottomed out after hitting one-week low -

trader

* Market also anticipating positive outcome for industry

from rail

project talks

By Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil

futures rose on Friday, boosted by weakness in the ringgit and

market anticipation of a potential government deal with China.

The ringgit, which has been weakening since April 3, fell to

its lowest since Jan. 28. A weaker ringgit, the currency in

which the futures are traded, makes the commodity more

attractive to buyers holding foreign notes.

The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery

on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.65 percent

at 2,168 ringgit ($526.47) a tonne at the midday break.

Palm's upward movement reversed some losses in the last two

sessions which saw the futures dragged to a one-week low in the

previous session due to a rising production outlook.

The market dropped as much as 2 percent on Wednesday as

official data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed

March end-stocks and production at higher levels than

expected.

"Market is bottoming out from the support level of 2,148 to

2,150 ringgit per tonne with supportive weakness in the

ringgit," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

Another trader said the market was also looking out for

Malaysia and China's announcement regarding the East Coast Rail

Link project expected in the afternoon that could favour the

palm oil industry.

Local media reported earlier this week that negotiations on

the China-backed rail project could include a palm oil exports

deal for Malaysia.

In other related oils, Chicago May soybean oil contract

slipped 0.1 percent, and the May soyoil contract on the

Dalian Commodity Exchange eased 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the Dalian May palm oil contract rose 0.4

percent.

Palm oil prices are affected by movements in soyoil, as they

compete for a share in the global vegetable oil market.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0503 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL APR9 0 +0.00 0 0 0

MY PALM OIL MAY9 2120 +9.00 2111 2125 290

MY PALM OIL JUN9 2168 +14.00 2150 2172 6595

CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY9 4474 +18.00 4442 4480 71434

CHINA SOYOIL MAY9 5432 -12.00 5414 5438 57452

CBOT SOY OIL MAY9 28.96 -0.02 28.9 28.97 1318

INDIA PALM OIL APR9 537.40 +2.80 535.00 539.3 147

INDIA SOYOIL APR9 741 +0.60 739.6 741 70

NYMEX CRUDE MAY9 63.86 +0.28 63.66 63.86 20803

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

India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg

Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 4.1180 ringgit)

($1 = 6.7190 Chinese yuan)

($1 = 69.0710 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Shreejay Sinha)