KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13: Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged 0.6 per cent higher in light trade on Monday as players awaited fresh direction from a price outlook conference in Singapore due to begin this week.

Gains were limited by low prices of rival soybean oil and some rushed to sell as contracts neared expiry dates and deliveries loomed.

The benchmark October contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 15 ringgit, or 0.6 per cent, at 2,530 ringgit ($729) per ton.

Players have been waiting by the sidelines as they want to know where the market is heading, which explains the low trading volumes, said a leading trader.

From the looks of it, the forecasts might be bullish as exports are bouncing back. At the Singapore International Oils and Oilseeds Conference from August 13 to 15, leading industry analysts such as Dorab Mistry will offer views and give price forecasts.

Other traded months rose between 7 and 19 ringgit while the January 2008 contract was unchanged. Overall trade halved to 6,587 lots of 25 tons each from around 12,000 lots that change hands on a routine trading day.

Palm oil is around 8 per cent off an historic high of 2,764 ringgit due to a slowdown in exports and rising reserves in June.

But demand has picked up in July as buyers across Asia lock in supplies for the festival season, especially for the holy month of Ramazan and the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival, both due in September.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Aug. 1-10 jumped 15.2 per cent to 378,014 tons, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said last week.—Reuters