* Prices climb to 2,685 ringgit in Friday trade * Palm oil targets 2,696 ringgit -technicals By Michael Taylor JAKARTA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose to their highest level in nine weeks on Friday, extending gains into a fourth session as a climb in rival vegetable oils boosted prices ahead of eagerly anticipated export data. The U.S. soyoil contract for March advanced 0.7 percent in early Asian trade, while the most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange climbed 0.8 percent. Higher soyoil prices may push buyers towards cheaper palm instead. By the midday break, the benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 1 percent to 2,682 ringgit ($810) per tonne. Prices earlier touched 2,685 ringgit, the highest since Dec. 9, and have added 4 percent this week. Total traded volume stood at 13,463 lots of 25 tonnes, slightly above below the average 12,500 lots. "The market is pretty strong," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage. "Bean oil and Dalian is bottoming out, and crude is up ... all these factors means a friendly market." Palm oil export data from Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services on Feb. 15 and Societe Generale de Surveillance on Feb. 17 for Feb. 1-15, is also being eyed, he added. "Last month, the first ten days of export were very bad," he said. "It should be higher than January, but whether it is positive, it is largely factored in already." Malaysia, the world's second-biggest palm oil producer, is also set to announce its monthly export tax rate on Monday. Technicals were bullish. Malaysian palm oil is expected to rise to 2,696 ringgit per tonne, as it has broken above resistance at 2,671 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. In other markets, Brent crude held steady below $109 a barrel, on track for a modest weekly decline, as supply disruptions in Libya and Angola balanced downbeat U.S. economic data. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0556 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL FEB4 0 +0.00 0 0 0 MY PALM OIL MAR4 2677 +25.00 2656 2681 358 MY PALM OIL APR4 2682 +26.00 2666 2685 5256 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY4 6006 +74.00 5962 6016 247466 CHINA SOYOIL MAY4 6736 +58.00 6722 6748 233708 CBOT SOY OIL MAR4 39.80 +0.27 39.46 39.83 3849 NYMEX CRUDE MAR4 100.16 -0.19 100.07 100.47 4343 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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