VEGOILS-Palm oil stays near 6-wk high despite rising production, inventory

* Palm oil prices supported by weaker ringgit

* August output up 12.96 pct from pvs month-MPOB

* Palm oil stocks at end-August up 10 pct-MPOB

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Thursday, hovering near their six-week high on the back of a weaker ringgit, though data showing rising production and inventory weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark November contract 1FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had gained 0.8 percent by the midday break at 2,129 ringgit ($490.10) a tonne.

Palm hit a six-week high of 2,132 ringgit on Wednesday on technical buying and short-covering ahead of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) production and inventory data.

Traded volume stood at 17,327 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the average of 13,500 lots at the end of the morning session.

"The rise in production and stockpiles was within market expectations, the ringgit is the main factor driving the market today," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.

Malaysia's palm oil stocks at the end of August rose 10 percent to 2.49 million tonnes from a revised 2.27 million tonnes at the end of July, industry regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said. ID:nL4N11G29P

Palm oil output in the world's second largest producer rose 12.96 percent from a month earlier in August, data released by MPOB showed.

Palm oil is expected to rise to 2,171 ringgit as it has broken a resistance at 2,113 ringgit, said Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals Wang Tao. ID:nL4N11G1W7

The Malaysian currency MYR= has provided some support to the vegetable oil in recent weeks as a weaker ringgit makes palm cheaper for offshore buyers. It is emerging Asia's worst performing currency this year, having lost nearly 20 percent so far. It lost 0.4 percent against the dollar at 4.3420 by midday on Thursday.

In competing vegetable oil markets, the most active January soybean oil contract DBYcv1 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was 0.3 percent lower, while the U.S. December soyoil contract BOZ5 was down 0.04 percent.

Crude oil prices fell slightly in early trading, as shrinking Japanese machinery orders fuelled concerns over an already slowing Asian growth. O/R

Palm oil often takes price direction from crude oil, as vegetable oils are increasingly used in making renewable fuels.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0528 GMT

Contract

Month

Last Change

Low

High Volume MY PALM OIL

SEP5

0

+0.00

0

0

0 MY PALM OIL

OCT5

2066

+9.00

2046

2066

613 MY PALM OIL

NOV5

2129 +16.00

2099

2130

7238 CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN6

4318 -18.00

4280

4344 603458 CHINA SOYOIL

JAN6

5402 -16.00

5368

5422 403544 CBOT SOY OIL

DEC5 26.90

+2.30 26.78 26.94

3623 INDIA PALM OIL SEP5 382.40

+2.30 381.10 383.50

421 INDIA SOYOIL

OCT5 560.70

+0.55 560.30 561.50

5195 NYMEX CRUDE

OCT5 43.94

-0.21 43.36 44.25 14408

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 India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 4.3440 ringgit) ($1 = 66.6500 Indian rupees) ($1 = 6.3837 Chinese yuan)