VEGOILS-Palm oil rises slightly as traders await export data

* Palm prices rise 1 percent

* Market remains cautious ahead of export data announcement

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures

rose slightly on Friday as a rising ringgit currency and release

of export data by cargo surveyors next week pushed traders into

cautious buying ahead of the weekend.

The benchmark December palm oil contract on the

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was 1 percent higher during

the midday break at 2,150 ringgit ($506.84) a tonne.

Traded volume stood at 17,818 lots of 25 tonnes each, more

than the average 13,500 lots usually traded at the end of the

morning session.

"There's not much direction in the market now. People are

skeptical about the potential impact of El Nino and the weather on

production," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in

Kuala Lumpur, referring to the cargo surveyors' data on Malaysia's

September 1-20 palm oil exports due on Monday.

"But that won't continue for long," he said, adding a

strengthening ringgit was aiding cautious attitudes.

The ringgit continued to gain against the dollar on

Friday, up nearly 0.25 percent to reach 4.2420 at midday.

Emerging Asia's worst performing currency so far, the ringgit

has lost about 18 percent this year. A weaker ringgit usually

lends some support to palm prices.

Palm oil still maintains a bearish target at 2,068 ringgit per

tonne as the support at 2,132 ringgit does not seem to hold,

according to Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy

technicals Wang Tao.

In competing vegetable oil markets, the most active January

soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange

lost 0.1 percent whiel the U.S. December soyoil contract

fell 0.3 percent.

Oil prices were weak on Friday on fresh signs OPEC would

continue valuing market share over prices, outweighing

expectations of a lift as the U.S. kept interest rates at historic

lows.

Palm oil often takes price direction from crude oil, as

vegetable oils are increasingly used in making renewable fuels.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0447 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL OCT5 2063 +9.00 2041 2063 74

MY PALM OIL NOV5 2109 +15.00 2081 2110 2659

MY PALM OIL DEC5 2150 +22.00 2117 2150 8084

CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6 4288 -6.00 4252 4300 641940

CHINA SOYOIL JAN6 5398 -6.00 5368 5418 360636

CBOT SOY OIL DEC5 26.80 -3.30 26.72 26.91 1654

INDIA PALM OIL SEP5 388.50 -3.30 387.20 391.30 233

INDIA SOYOIL OCT5 567.50 -0.20 567.50 568.30 1695

NYMEX CRUDE OCT5 46.74 -0.16 46.63 46.91 4472

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 = 4.2420 ringgit)

($1 = 66.0425 Indian rupees)

($1 = 6.3637 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)