Updates prices, adds estimates from growers' group)
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Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Thursday, tracking crude oil prices that surged as fighting in the Middle East intensified.

Brent prices shot up nearly 6 percent after Saudi Arabia and

its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen, but

the benchmark came off its high near $60 as importers saw no

immediate threat to supplies.

Higher crude prices could attract interest for palm-based

biodiesel. Demand for palm from the biodiesel sector has taken a

hit as a rout in oil prices over the past year made palm

unattractive for blending purposes.

"Crude oil went up sharply on the back of the uncertainty in

the Middle East. Malaysian palm oil got a ride from that," said

a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

"There was a lot of covering in palm," the trader added.

"Strength in crude oil is favourable for biofuel."

The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia

Derivatives had risen 1.2 percent to 2,194 ringgit ($600) a

tonne by Thursday's close, stretching gains into a second day.

Prices touched 2,204 ringgit earlier in the session.

Total traded volume stood at 46,596 lots of 25 tonnes, above

the average 35,000 lots.

Data showing rising palm exports from No.2 producer Malaysia

also provided some support to prices.

Data from Intertek Testing Services showed Malaysian palm

oil shipments between March 1-25 rose 3.5 percent versus the

same period in February, while surveyor Societe Generale de

Surveillance reported a 3.7 percent increase. The last time the

data recorded a rise was in late December.

But persistent worries that abundant global edible oils

supply will overwhelm demand this year kept a lid on gains.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, a group of

growers, estimate that the country's crude palm oil production

climbed 16.8 percent in the March 1-20 period, as flood-hit

yields in the Borneo region recovered.

In other competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil

May contract rose 1.4 percent in late Asian trade, while

the most active September soybean oil contract on the

Dalian Commodity Exchange edged up 0.2 percent.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1029 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL APR5 2179 +19.00 2164 2189 319

MY PALM OIL MAY5 2200 +27.00 2173 2208 6025

MY PALM OIL JUN5 2194 +27.00 2166 2204 25481

CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP5 4752 +24.00 4698 4766 610362

CHINA SOYOIL SEP5 5472 +8.00 5426 5484 495072

CBOT SOY OIL MAY5 31.46 +1.90 30.81 31.69 10366

INDIA PALM OIL MAR5 438.10 +1.90 437.30 439.20 295

INDIA SOYOIL APR5 591.90 +4.25 589.00 593.80 20370

NYMEX CRUDE MAY5 51.25 +2.04 48.73 52.48 142022

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 = 3.6570 Malaysian ringgit)

($1 = 6.2124 Chinese yuan)

($1 = 62.67 Indian rupee)

(Editing by Himani Sarkar)