* Malaysia announces plans on palm oil export tax, quota * Palm oil may retrace to 2,399 ringgit-technicals * Prices down as much as 5.7 pct after announcement * Futures post weekly gain, snap 3 weeks of losses (Updates prices) By Chew Yee Kiat SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Friday after the government announced tax cuts that will only take effect from Jan. 1, as traders had expected a more immediate policy. Malaysia will cut crude palm oil (CPO) export taxes and discontinue a tax free shipment quota for the grade from Jan 1 2013, a government minister said on Friday, as the world's No.2 producer seeks to snatch back market share from top producer Indonesia. Malaysia is also looking at setting export taxes for the crude grade on a monthly basis to better reflect movements in international prices, a government source told Reuters on Friday. A larger tax cut could boost Malaysia's crude exports and claw back market share from top producer Indonesia, as well as help ease stockpiles which climbed to a record high of 2.48 million tonnes in September, but traders did not immediately see the news as a positive development. "Buy on rumours, sell on facts," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "There was too much hype and expectations before the announcement, so now people are selling." The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.9 percent to close at 2,500 ringgit ($818) per tonne, after losing as much as 5.7 percent to 2,379 ringgit. For the week, prices posted a modest 3.5 percent gain, snapping three straight weeks of losses. Total traded volumes surged above 44,590 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots, as traders rushed to liquidate their positions. Technicals showed that palm oil faces a resistance at 2,528 ringgit per tonne and may retrace to 2,399 ringgit, and a break above 2,528 ringgit will lead to a moderate gain to 2,579 ringgit, said Reuters analyst Wang Tao. Some traders said the new plan could benefit millers and planters in Malaysia but may not help refiners much. The new plan could also trigger a price war between top producers Malaysia and Indonesia, said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Malaysia. Oil fell below $115 a barrel on Friday, as a prediction of a further decline in oil consumption and higher supplies offset concerns about potential output disruptions in the Middle East. In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery edged down 0.7 percent in late Asian trade. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 1.3 percent lower on weak demand for edible oils in China, the world's No.2 buyer. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1008 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL OCT2 2400 +20.00 2300 2400 100 MY PALM OIL NOV2 2480 +27.00 2340 2480 561 MY PALM OIL DEC2 2500 -23.00 2379 2529 21416 CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3 6896 -96.00 6884 7082 473582 CHINA SOYOIL JAN3 9092 -120.00 9068 9256 572178 CBOT SOY OIL DEC2 50.95 -0.38 50.50 51.64 13551 NYMEX CRUDE NOV2 91.89 -0.18 91.65 92.60 20500 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

Source