VEGOILS-Palm futures up for fifth session on supply shortage worries

SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains for a fifth straight session on Monday and hit a two-year high, on fears that supply is set to fall sharply. The benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 1.3% at 2,896 ringgit ($694.48) per tonne in early trade, the highest price since Feb. 16, 2017. A Reuters poll on Thursday forecast Malaysian palm oil production would show a 10% monthly fall in November, but traders said they now expect it to fall as much as 13%, driving prices higher. Dry weather and lower fertiliser use, a move adopted by some growers to save costs, have affected output this year at top producers Indonesia and Malaysia, and will continue to be a factor in the coming years, industry analyst James Fry said last month. Malaysian Palm Oil Board will release official data on Dec. 10. Palm oil continued to overtake soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade for the second straight session, and was last up 0.3% at $690.50 per tonne. The last time palm oil was more expensive than soyoil was in February 2011. Gains in rival oils on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also helped the rally in palm oil prices. Dalian's January soyoil contract last traded 1.5% higher, while its palm oil contract rose 2.8%. Rival oils on the Dalian exchange rallied on palm oil supply concerns in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as soyoil in Argentina, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Further supporting prices was a slightly weaker ringgit, down 0.2%, which made the edible oil cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. Palm oil may rise further into a range of 2,911-2,969 ringgit per tonne, driven by a powerful wave (3), Reuters analyst Wang Tao said. FUNDAMENTALS * U.S. soybean futures rose for a fifth straight session on Monday after China said last week it would waive import tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the United States. * Oil prices fell on Monday after data showed China's overall exports of goods and services shrank for a fourth straight month, sending shivers through a market already concerned about global demand being dampened by the Sino-U.S. trade war. MARKET NEWS * Asian stocks edged up on Monday, catching some of Wall Street's momentum after surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data although regional gains were capped by concerns about China's economy due to the prolonged tariff war. * The dollar held firm on Monday after data showed surprise strength in the U.S. jobs market, but the currency was restrained from moving higher by worries about an escalation in the trade war. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Exports, Imports MM SA Oct 0700 Germany Trade Balance, EUR, SA Oct 0930 EU Sentix Index Dec PALM, CRUDE, SOY OIL PRICES AT 0300 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB0 2913 +55.00 2882 2915 5032 MY PALM OIL JAN0 2888 +52.00 2862 2890 318 CHINA PALM JAN0 5902 +200.00 5744 5910 545074 OLEIN CHINA SOYOIL JAN0 6414 +108.00 6320 6418 103124 CBOT SOY OIL JAN0 31.38 +0.16 31.17 31.38 3200 INDIA PALM DEC9 0.00 +0.00 0.00 0 0 OIL INDIA SOYOIL DEC9 854 +13.80 840.6 854 15025 NYMEX CRUDE JAN0 58.97 -0.23 58.83 59.23 18041 ($1 = 4.1700 ringgit) (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)