* Palm prices hit a low at 2,745 ringgit * Some traders expect demand to pick up ahead of April * Prices could hit 3,000 ringgit in April if El Nino returns -Mistry By Michael Taylor JAKARTA, March 21 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Friday, tracking a weakness in competing edible oil markets, while downbeat export data and improving weather conditions also weighed on prices. By the midday break, the benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had dropped 0.8 percent to 2,750 ringgit ($830) per tonne. Prices have fallen 1.6 percent this week, but have gained 3.4 percent this year. "People are looking at the export figures, this month's production - the weather is improving," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "There has also been a big drop in soybean oil." Total traded volume for palm oil stood at 13,237 lots of 25 tonnes, just above the average 12,500 lots. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell 12.3 percent from a month ago to 767,785 tonnes during March 1-20 as India, the world's top edible oil buyer, reduced imports of palm, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Thursday. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance showed exports for the same period fell 12.0 percent. Benchmark palm oil prices could, however, rise to 3,000 ringgit in April if the El Nino weather pattern returns to curb yields from trees, which have already been stressed by dry weather, leading analyst Dorab Mistry said. Malaysian palm oil refiners are cutting production with some plants running at half their capacity as the prolonged dryness in the Southeast Asian country has reduced feedstock availability, trade sources said. Palm prices soared to an 18-month high at 2,916 ringgit on March 11 amid worries dry weather may hit supplies, but prices have come off peaks and are now on track to drop for an eighth session out of nine as rains over most parts of Malaysia last week ended the crop-damaging dry spell. Palm prices were also pressured by losses in competing overseas soyoil markets. The U.S. soyoil contract for May fell 0.6 percent in early Asian trade, while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange shed 0.8 percent. Some traders see palm oil demand picking up in the next 10 days, ahead of expected export tax rises for April and as buyers re-stock before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. In other markets, Brent fell towards $106 per barrel, on track for a fourth weekly loss, hurt by a stronger dollar and seasonal slump in demand, while fresh U.S. sanctions against Russia could inject a new risk premium into the market. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0624 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL APR4 2847 -18.00 2844 2849 88 MY PALM OIL MAY4 2786 -23.00 2782 2804 1626 MY PALM OIL JUN4 2750 -23.00 2745 2769 7730 CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP4 6148 -36.00 6112 6204 522048 CHINA SOYOIL SEP4 6846 -52.00 6804 6896 719490 CBOT SOY OIL MAY4 41.08 -0.23 41.07 41.39 4191 NYMEX CRUDE MAY4 98.41 -0.49 98.25 98.70 3949 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 ($1 = 3.2965 Malaysian Ringgit) ($1 = 6.2275 Chinese Yuan)

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