* Prices climb to 2,655 rgt in Thursday trade * Palm oil stocks seen falling to 1.88 mln T in February -analyst * Palm oil targets 2,665 ringgit -technicals By Anuradha Raghu KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended at a six-week-high on Thursday, extending gains into a third straight session, as stronger soy markets in the U.S. and China signalled a pick-up in food and fuel demand for the tropical oil. The U.S. soyoil contract for March rose 0.3 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange climbed 0.7 percent. Higher soyoil prices could turn buyers to the cheaper palm instead, as both edible oils are common substitutes for each other. "Concerns about the dry weather in Brazil are still there, so it has helped to support soybean oil prices, and indirectly palm oil as well," said Kenanga Investment Bank analyst Alan Lim. By Thursday's close, the benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.8 percent to 2,655 ringgit ($800) per tonne - the highest level since Jan. 2. Prices traded between 2,636 and 2,664 ringgit. Total traded volume stood at 37,896 lots of 25 tonnes, above the average 35,000 lots. Technicals were bullish. Malaysian palm oil may clear a resistance at 2,649 ringgit per tonne, and rise further to 2,665 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Analysts said seasonally slower output of palm oil in Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer, may lead to a bigger fall in end-stocks this month despite sluggish exports. Inventories in January had eased for the first time in seven months to stand at 1.93 million tonnes. "We expect inventories to decline to 1.88 million tonnes in February. Although we expect exports to go down due to shorter calendar days, the decline in production will be more," Lim added. In other markets, Brent crude oil slipped towards $108 a barrel on Thursday, easing for the first time in three sessions ahead of an expected dip in demand during the refinery maintenance season. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1009 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB4 0 +0.00 0 2635 0 MY PALM OIL MAR4 2651 +20.00 2633 2657 1632 MY PALM OIL APR4 2655 +20.00 2636 2664 15875 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY4 5932 +66.00 5892 5972 446058 CHINA SOYOIL MAY4 6678 +44.00 6642 6706 378150 CBOT SOY OIL MAR4 39.09 +0.10 38.95 39.17 5618 NYMEX CRUDE MAR4 99.64 -0.73 99.40 100.36 14600 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

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