* Palm oil futures hit another 9-mth peak on strong exports * But the edible oil could face technical resistance at 3,398 ringgit * Malaysian exports for March 1-15 rise 37 pct -ITS * Palm oil futures up 7.2 percent this year (Updates prices, adds SGS export data) By Chew Yee Kiat SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up to another nine-month high on Thursday, as strong export numbers painted a rosy demand outlook for the edible oil and as soybean supply fears in South America supported prices. An improvement in Malaysian exports for the first 15 days of March has helped palm oil extend its gains to 7.2 percent this year, while positive news such as the Greek debt swap deal and improving U.S. retail sales have also lifted sentiment. "Generally external markets have been quite strong and news on the external front has been quite positive. Soybean prices are also in an uptrend, lifted partly by improving confidence in the global economy," said Ivy Ng, an analyst at Malaysia's CIMB Investment Bank. "On top of that, people are a bit concerned in view of the continuous downgrade of the South American soybean crop, so this could prompt them to try to buy ahead." Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.5 percent to close at 3,403 ringgit ($1,114) per tonne. Prices touched a new peak of 3,415 ringgit, a level not seen since last June. Traded volumes on Thursday stood at 23,594 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly less than the usual 25,000 lots. On the technicals front, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said palm oil faces resistance at 3,398 ringgit per tonne, a break above which would open the way towards 3,440 ringgit. Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported a 37 percent month-on-month increase in Malaysian exports for the first 15 days of March to 697,804 tonnes, pointing to brightening demand prospects. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a higher 42 percent jump in exports for the same period to 701,536 tonnes. Market players are keeping a close watch on the official planting forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture due at the end of the month to help gauge of soybean output for the year. Lower soybean output would help support prices of palm oil as it competes with crushed soybean oil for use in the food and fuel sectors. In other vegetable oil markets, the most active U.S. soyoil contract for May delivery inched up 0.7 percent on concerns over the South American drought hurting soy crops. The most active September 2012 soyoil contract on China's Dalian Commodity exchange lost 0.1 percent. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1004 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL MAR2 3420 +44.00 3420 3420 9 MY PALM OIL APR2 3393 +13.00 3385 3411 902 MY PALM OIL MAY2 3403 +18.00 3383 3415 10681 CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP2 8614 -10.00 8572 8664 276508 CHINA SOYOIL SEP2 9640 -6.00 9600 9686 611450 CBOT SOY OIL MAY2 55.19 +0.39 54.74 55.20 9305 NYMEX CRUDE APR2 105.51 +0.08 105.26 105.95 18423 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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