VEGOILS-Malaysian palm oil prices firm in early trade on supply concerns

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose in early trade on Wednesday due to concerns over lower production and falling stocks in the world's top suppliers.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 32 ringgit, or 0.85%, to 3,787 ringgit ($815.46) in early trade.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysia's palm oil stocks at the end of November fell for the first time in seven months as production slumped more than exports, data from the industry regulator showed last week.

* Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, exported 3.00 million metric tons of palm oil products in October, down 31% from the same month last year, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed on Tuesday.

* European Union soybean imports so far in the 2023/24 season that started in July reached 5.17 million metric tons by Dec. 17, nearly unchanged compared with 5.15 million a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed on Tuesday.

* Exports of Malaysian palm oil products in the first half of December fell 13.6% month-on-month to 591,490 metric tons, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Friday.

* Soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.41%.

* Indonesia plans to set its crude palm oil reference price at $767.51 per metric ton for the Dec. 16-31 period, down from $795.14 in the first half of the month.

* India's palm oil imports in November jumped to a near three-month high, up nearly 23% from October as refiners preferred the tropical oil over rival soyoil and sunflower oil due to steep discounts, a leading trade body said.

* Palm oil still targets a range of 3,813-3,835 ringgit per metric ton, as it has broken a resistance zone of 3,775-3,781 ringgit.

MARKET NEWS

* Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday after rising more than 1% in the previous session on jitters over global trade disruption and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

* Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher as U.S. rate cut fever lingered near the year's end. ($1 = 4.6440 ringgit) (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Eileen Soreng)