KUALA LUMPUR, July 13: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended at one-month highs on Friday, after prices of rival soybean oil rose due to lower US government estimates for soybean reserves.

Expectations of better export demand from the food sector spurred a bout of short covering that supported the market.

The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled 8 ringgit higher at 2,623 ringgit ($762) a ton.

Other traded months rose between 5 and 34 ringgit, except for the spot month which was down 5 ringgit in overall trade of 13,114 lots of 25 tons each.

The lower-end stock estimates for soybean has pushed soyaoil up on the Chicago Board of Trade and supported Malaysian palm oil, said one trader.

Also, players are ignoring production and supply factors to focus on exports for the first 15 days in July, which should be higher due to the festive season. Industry officials say palm oil demand will pick up from July as buyers lock in supplies for the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan, which is due in Sept.

Palm oil is just about 5 per cent off a historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached in early June on robust demand from top importers China and India and dwindling supplies at home.

The monthly crop data released by the US Department of Agriculture estimated 2007/08 US ending soy stocks at 245 million bushels, 75 million bushels lower than its June forecast.

Malaysian palm oil tracks the US soyaoil market because both commodities are used in products ranging from cookies to lipstick and biodiesel.—Reuters