* Investors turn cautious on weak China, U.S. econ data * Palm oil looks set for 3.7 pct weekly gain on weather fears * Palm oil to dive to 2,924 ringgit -technicals * Malaysia's Felda says Louis Dreyfus inks strategic partnership (Updates prices) By Chew Yee Kiat SINGAPORE, June 22 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures inched down on Friday, as investors took a more cautious stance on weak economic data from the United States and China, worrying that slowing global growth could hurt commodity demand. U.S. factory growth registered its slowest pace in 11 months in June and Chinese manufacturing contracted for an eighth month running. Shrinking business activity across the euro zone and a downgrade to the credit ratings of 15 of the world's biggest banks by ratings agency Moody's also added to the gloom. But palm oil still ended the week 3.7 percent higher on earlier rallies this week as dry weather in the U.S. threatened to tighten global oilseed supplies. "We are seeing a tug of war. On one hand we have good fundamentals, on the other hand we have macroeconomic factors that are a bit bearish," said James Ratnam, an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia. "Festive demand is still quite strong but traders are worried that if the economy gets really bad, demand will suffer eventually." Benchmark September palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 1.6 percent to close at 2,953 ringgit ($928) per tonne. Prices rose as high as 3,062 ringgit on Thursday, a level unseen since June 1. Traded volumes stood at 26,845 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots on position squaring ahead of the weekend. On the technicals front, palm oil will drop to 2,924 ringgit, as a rebound from its low of 2,838 ringgit has been completed, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. Malaysian palm oil exports grew 15 percent in the first 20 days of the month from a month ago, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance, backed by last-minute buying from India and Pakistan ahead of the fasting month beginning in late July. In related news, commodities trader Louis Dreyfus is buying a smaller-than-anticipated slice of Malaysian palm oil firm Felda Global Ventures Holding's $3.1 billion IPO, but sealed a deal to market the company's palm oil. Oil rebounded above $90 a barrel on Friday after hitting an 18-month low but remained on course for its biggest weekly loss in about a year as reports suggesting slowing economic growth around the globe signalled weaker demand. In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery lost a slight 0.1 percent. The Dalian commodity exchange is closed for a public holiday and will resume trading on Monday. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1005 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL JUL2 2926 -58.00 2920 2950 570 MY PALM OIL AUG2 2944 -52.00 2926 2961 2046 MY PALM OIL SEP2 2953 -47.00 2932 2970 16963 CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3 7946 -14.00 7882 7980 361144 CHINA SOYOIL JAN3 9440 -14.00 9396 9474 527894 CBOT SOY OIL JUL2 49.77 -0.04 49.31 50.09 7346 NYMEX CRUDE AUG2 78.66 +0.46 77.56 79.01 38748 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 Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

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