* Malaysia Sept palm exports up 2.1 pct -ITS * Prices set for 4.4 pct fall in Sept * Palm oil seen consolidating in 2,270-2,311 rgt range -technicals By Anuradha Raghu KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Monday, tracking falls in U.S. and Chinese soy markets, but a weaker ringgit curbed losses and locked prices in a tight range. The U.S. soyoil contract for December slipped 0.7 percent in early Asian trade, while the most-active January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange eased 0.6 percent. Weaker soyoil prices could channel some food and fuel demand away from competing palm oil. But the ringgit, which fell another 0.92 percent against the U.S. dollar early on Monday, checked palm oil losses and kept prices in a range of 2,296-2,312 ringgit. Palm also drew support from export demand. Shipments of Malaysian palm oil grew 2.1 percent to 1.53 million tonnes in September compared to a month ago, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another cargo surveyor will release data for the same period later on Monday. "Palm is down because of the weak global commodity prices for soybeans, soybean oil and crude oil," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader with a foreign commodities brokerage. "At the same time there is weakness in the Malaysian ringgit - so the market is moving in a tight range." By the midday break, the benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had inched down 0.5 percent to 2,299 ringgit ($705) per tonne. Total traded volumes stood at 14,846 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly above the average 12,500 lots. On the technical front, Malaysian palm oil is likely to consolidate in a range of 2,270 to 2,311 ringgit per tonne before either rebounding further or continuing to slide, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. Investor fears over seasonally rising output in Southeast Asia and predictions of prices hitting fresh lows in the coming months have dragged prices down 4.4 percent for the month of September. Forecasts of near-record U.S. harvests by agricultural meteorologists also piled pressure on Chicago soybeans, which hovered near 1-month lows on Monday. Larger supplies of soybeans for crushing into soyoil could snatch demand away from palm oil, a rival vegetable oil. In other markets, Brent crude slipped below $108 a barrel on Monday and was on track for its first monthly drop in four months, as tensions over Iran eased and as a potential U.S. government shutdown clouded the outlook for demand. Palm oil feedstock is often used as a green alternative to crude oil for producing biofuels. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0523 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL OCT3 2335 -15.00 2335 2336 26 MY PALM OIL NOV3 2301 -15.00 2300 2314 2362 MY PALM OIL DEC3 2299 -11.00 2296 2312 7696 CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN4 5386 +0.00 5374 5418 166672 CHINA SOYOIL JAN4 6972 -40.00 6934 7008 262216 CBOT SOY OIL DEC3 41.51 -0.30 41.51 41.80 4944 NYMEX CRUDE NOV3 101.57 -1.30 101.45 102.54 13517 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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