(Corrects to show palm oil down 7 percent so far this month, not year) * Bullish target at 3,322 ringgit unchanged -technicals * Exports inched up for first time for Feb. 1-25 * Cargo surveyors to release Feb export data on Wed By Chew Yee Kiat SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures inched up on Tuesday, buoyed by improving demand prospects, but gains were limited as investors worried about the risks to global growth from high oil prices. Malaysian export numbers on Monday pointed to strengthening demand, helping to lift palm oil prices which have gained 7 percent so far this month. "Exports were quite weak last month. Overall demand is higher this month and it should be positive for prices," said James Ratnam, an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia. "Recently the U.S. Department of Agriculture revised soybean stocks downwards. So all these things coming together and they are pushing prices up." By the midday break, benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 0.4 percent to 3,295 ringgit ($1,095) per tonne. It touched an intraday high of 3,298 ringgit on Monday, a level last seen since June 9 last year. Traded volumes were thin at 5,866 lots of 25 tonnes each as investors were wary of high oil prices denting global growth, compared to the usual 12,500 lots. Malaysian palm oil exports for the first 25 days of February edged up 1.1 percent compared to a month ago, the first increase posted this month, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a higher increase of 4.5 percent for the same period, an improvement compared to the decline in exports for the first 20 days of the month. Traders attributed the improvement in shipment to the tax-free export quotas for 3 million tonnes of crude palm oil issued in early February. Market players will be keeping a close watch as cargo surveyors issue February export numbers on Wednesday. Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said a bullish target at 3,322 ringgit per tonne remains unchanged for palm oil. In related news, Wilmar International Ltd, the world's largest listed palm oil plantation firm, said it has acquired a 10.1 percent interest in Australasian food company Goodman Fielder Ltd, for around A$115 million ($124 million). Brent crude futures extended losses and slipped below $124 on Tuesday, snapping a surge that threatened to hurt the global economy while concerns over supply from the Middle East helped stem the slide. Other vegetable markets posted moderate gains. The U.S. soyoil contract for March delivery gained 0.1 percent in Asian trade and the most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange inched up 0.4 higher. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0531 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL MAR2 3245 +10.00 3238 3245 192 MY PALM OIL APR2 3278 +14.00 3272 3278 425 MY PALM OIL MAY2 3295 +12.00 3290 3297 2825 CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP2 8418 +26.00 8398 8426 46680 CHINA SOYOIL SEP2 9458 +44.00 9436 9472 158288 CBOT SOY OIL MAY2 54.89 +0.03 54.74 54.90 1785 NYMEX CRUDE APR2 108.06 -0.50 107.84 108.09 4170 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=3.0095 ringgit) (Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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