JAKARTA, March 14: Malaysia palm oil futures fell on Wednesday as players booked profits after gains for three straight days, amid talk of lower export figures as well as losses in soyaoil.

The benchmark third-month May contract on the BursaMalaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 1,945 ringgit ($554) per ton, down 32 ringgit from Tuesday's close at 1,977 ringgit.

Other contracts fell between 25 and 30 ringgit as 4,701 lots of 25 tons each changed hands.

It's more of profit-taking because Chicago soyabean futures were down. Also we are hearing that export figures tomorrow will be lower. That let some people take out their positions, a Malaysian trader said.

Two cargo surveyors, Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance, will release Malaysian palm oil export figures for March 1-15 on Thursday.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures could rise to 2,200 ringgit per ton by July and to 2,200-2,400 ringgit in the fourth quarter, leading analyst Dorab Mistry told the conference.

Other experts said they expected prices to rise in the first half of this year despite higher output.

Malaysia's crude palm oil output was expected to reach 16.5 million tons in 2007, up from 15.9 million tons last year, Malaysian Commodities Minister Peter Chin said.

Malaysian palm oil prices soared 40 per cent last year on the back of biodiesel demand and the market is still holding on to the strong gains despite a sell-off of risky assets around the globe. —Reuters