Updates with midday prices, trader's comment

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Reuters) -Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Wednesday, as demand from top buyers India and China as well as strength in rival Dalian contracts underpinned the market.

The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 48 ringgit, or 1.21%, to 4,008 ringgit ($852.95) per metric ton by the midday break.

Good demand from key destinations India and China as well as support from rival sunflower oil and soyoil have raised Malaysian palm oil futures to the 4,000 ringgit range, said Mitesh Saiya, trading manager at Mumbai-based trading firm Kantilal Laxmichand & Co.

"In the coming weeks, we may see the contract touching the 4,150 ringgit range," Saiya said.

Malaysian palm oil exports for May 1-25 rose between 2.4% and 3.1% from the month before, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance estimated the exports at 949,451 tons, compared with 931,938 tons a month earlier, according to LSEG.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract DBYcv1 ticked 0.77% higher, while its palm oil contract DCPcv1 added 1.52%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade BOcv1 were down 0.31%.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Oil prices rose in Asian trading on Wednesday on expectations major producers will maintain output cuts at a meeting this Sunday, and that fuel consumption should begin rising with the start of the peak summer demand season. O/R

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit MYR=, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.15% against the dollar, making the commodity less expensive for buyers holding foreign currency.

Palm oil may climb into a range of 4,002 ringgit to 4,025 ringgit per metric ton, as it has broken resistance at 3,949 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C

($1 = 4.6990 ringgit)

Reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mrigank Dhaniwala

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