* Signs rise that Greek bailout will be approved soon * Dry South American weather provides support * Malaysian export data for Feb. 1-20 due Monday (Updates prices, adds details) By Chew Yee Kiat SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed to a near two-month high on Friday on hopes that Greece will soon secure a bailout package, while dry weather fears in soy-producing South America also provided support. The market optimism came when a proposal to withhold part of the bailout until after Greek elections expected in April was dropped, increasing prospects of securing a deal next week and preventing the euro debt crisis from spreading. Concerns of a smaller soybean crop in drought-hit Brazil and Argentina also lifted palm oil, which competes with soyoil for uses in biofuel and food. The palm oil futures market is up more than 2 percent this year, the highest gain posted so far. "Positive points to support palm oil come from the dryness in Argentina and Brazil. Also the winter season seems to be colder than usual in Europe, so that will be supportive for rapeseed oil," said Alan Lim, research analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank. "But there are still lingering concerns on Europe and whether demand will be able to sustain," the analyst added. Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.7 percent to close at 3,242 ringgit ($1,066) per tonne. Prices earlier hit a high of 3,255 ringgit, a level last seen on Nov. 21, due in part ot an improvement in the technical outlook. Traded volumes stood at 30,764 lots of 25 tonnes each, the highest this week. On the technicals side, Reuters analyst Wang Tao said a bearish target at 2,900 ringgit per tonne has been revised to 3,487 ringgit per tonne for Malaysian palm oil over the next four weeks. In signs of slowing demand, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said Malaysian palm oil exports from Feb. 1 to 15 fell 14 percent to 509,107 tonnes from a month ago. The decline was steeper compared to the first ten days of February when exports fell by 4.3 percent compared to the same period a month ago. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillence reported a similar trend. But crude palm oil demand picked up, which market players attributed to the tax-free export quotas of 3 million tonnes that were issued early this February after weeks of delay. Investors expect to see the effects of the quotas in the next exports data release due Monday, as it takes time for exporters to get the necessary documents to ship out crude palm oil. Brent crude traded little changed above $120 on Friday, supported by supply concerns as European buyers sought alternatives to sanctions-hit Iranian oil and the prospect of a revival in demand as Greece edged closer to a bailout deal. Other vegetable oil markets were also higher on Greek optimism. The U.S. soyoil contract for March delivery edged up 0.7 percent while the most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange rose 1.1 percent. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1002 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL MAR2 3212 +37.00 3183 3219 767 MY PALM OIL APR2 3231 +45.00 3202 3251 6254 MY PALM OIL MAY2 3242 +53.00 3204 3255 15655 CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP2 8286 +72.00 8240 8296 85110 CHINA SOYOIL SEP2 9352 +98.00 9276 9366 341186 CBOT SOY OIL MAR2 53.40 +0.35 53.00 53.54 4449 NYMEX CRUDE MAR2 102.77 +0.46 102.25 102.95 11947 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 Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel * Bursa Malaysia holds its annual Palm and Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition Price Outlook 2012 from March 5 to 7 in Kuala Lumpur. For details, see www.pocmalaysia.com ($1=3.042 ringgit)

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