KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's derivatives exchange ended higher Tuesday on bargain hunting after recent declines and firmer CBOT soyoil futures.

The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange ended 0.1% higher at MYR3,002 a metric ton.

The market's morning rally followed a 2.9% drop in prices Monday, due to worries about the global economy and a higher forecast of global soybean inventories by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The market is in consolidation after recent price fall.. .we saw some buying interest from Chinese buyers after the recent dip," a commodities broker in Kuala Lumpur said.

CBOT January soyoil was up 0.1% at 49.36 cents a pound when trade on BMD ended.

November production and stock data by the state-linked Malaysian Palm Oil Board were within expectations. Traders tip palm oil to trade in a MYR2,990-MYR3,050/ton range in the near term.

"Today's MPOB statistics for November contained few surprises...however, trade participants looking for stocks below 2 million tons were disappointed," agri-commodity analyst Victor Thianpiriya at ANZ Research said.

November CPO output reached 1.63 million tons, a decline of 15% from October's peak of 1.91 million tons, in line with a seasonal drop in yields during the lean production period from November to April.

Palm oil stocks fell 1.5% from the previous month to 2.07 million tons at the end of November after months of inventory builds. The figure is close to an earlier forecast of end-November level of 2.0 million tons.

Lower palm oil stocks and an increasing supply of soyoil suggests relative pricing between the two oils could stay tight in the near term, Thianpiriya said in a note.

Refined palm olein from Malaysian ports is $40/ton cheaper than rival soyoil from Argentina, wider than Monday's differential of $23/ton.

In the cash market, refined palm olein for December was offered at $1,060/ton while cash CPO for prompt shipment was offered MYR30 lower at MYR3,030/ton.

Open interest on the BMD was 116,975 lots, versus 117,734 lots Monday. One lot is equivalent to 25 tons.

A total of 16,668 lots of CPO were traded versus 15,600 lots Monday.

Closing BMD CPO futures prices in MYR/ton at 1000 GMT: 
 
Month   Close  Previous  Change   High    Low 
Dec'11  2,990     2,963     +27  3,000  2,990 
Jan'12  3,001     2,996      +5  3,020  2,984 
Feb'12  3,002     2,998      +4  3,023  2,980 
Mar'12  3,007     2,999      +8  3,024  2,981