* Prices on track to fall 3.9 pct this week, biggest loss in 4 weeks * Jan 1-10 palm exports plunge 21.5 pct m/m -ITS * India raises import duty on refined palm oil to 10 pct * Malaysia's end-Dec palm stocks up 0.3 pct on month, misses estimates -MPOB By Anuradha Raghu KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged down on Friday, hovering near two-month lows and stretching losses into a seventh day on worries that exports of the tropical oil's refined grade would take a hit after top consumer India hiked import duties. India, the world's top importer of vegetable oils, on Thursday raised import duty on refined palm oil to 10 percent from 7.5 percent. The decision could shift Indian demand to crude palm oil (CPO), benefiting Malaysian exporters as the No.2 producer charges a lower duty on overseas sales than rival Indonesia. But investors fretted that exports of refined palm products could plummet and cause stocks to pile up. "The refined palm olein demand will taper, exports could be hit hard. The long term looks bearish as India is a main consumer," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur. By the midday break, the benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged down 0.1 percent to 2,537 ringgit ($776) per tonne. Prices were locked in a range between 2,533 and 2,551 ringgit, but up from Thursday's two-month low of 2,516 ringgit. Total traded volume stood at 11,462 lots of 25 tonnes, slightly below the usual 12,500 lots. Investors also took positions ahead of a key industry report on stocks in the world's second-largest producer. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board's stocks report, released after the midday break, showed that Malaysia's inventories at the end of December rose 0.3 percent to 1.99 million tonnes from November, missing market estimates for a 1 percent fall. After three straight weeks of gains, palm prices have lost nearly 4 percent this week on fears of oversupply of global edible oils, further dragged by weak competing U.S. and China soy markets, tracked by palm. Poor export demand further dampened investor sentiment. Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) reported that Malaysian palm oil shipments plunged 21 percent to 297,308 tonnes in the Jan. 1-10 period from a month ago. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance will release export data for the same period later in the day. Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil faces a resistance at 2,555 ringgit per tonne and may revisit its Thursday low of 2,516 ringgit, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March rose 0.2 percent in early Asian trade. The most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange also gained 0.2 percent. In other markets, Brent crude rose towards $107 a barrel on Friday amid worries about supply from North Africa, although speculation that strong U.S. data could prompt the Federal Reserve to further taper its stimulus capped gains. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0503 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL JAN4 2499 -11.00 2498 2499 5 MY PALM OIL FEB4 2516 -6.00 2513 2533 1160 MY PALM OIL MAR4 2537 -2.00 2533 2551 6117 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY4 5854 +42.00 5824 5874 407554 CHINA SOYOIL MAY4 6648 +14.00 6634 6692 362680 CBOT SOY OIL MAR4 37.99 +0.03 37.96 38.08 4447 NYMEX CRUDE FEB4 92.47 +0.81 92.20 92.48 4588 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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