19/09/2012 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell to a one-month low on Tuesday, tracking losses in soybean futures, which had posted their biggest daily drop in a year on a better-than-expected harvest in the U.S. Midwest.

Palm oil futures lost as much as 5.3 percent after resuming trading following a holiday break, as signs of better soybean yields in the U.S. Midwest and favourable crop weather in Brazil brightened global oilseed supply prospects.

"It's purely because of the grains complex. People are cashing out on the weather, so that triggered a lot of short orders, especially on the U.S. side," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.

"The palm oil market is under tremendous pressure."

The benchmark December 2012 contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 125 ringgit to close at 2,861 ringgit ($936), off an earlier low of 2,827 ringgit, a level last seen on Aug. 15.

Total traded volume stood at 57,092 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 25,000 tonnes, as traders hedged positions and booked profits.

Resilient demand for the edible oil failed to turned the market around. Exports for the first half of September rose 12 percent from a month ago, cargo surveyer data showed.

Technicals were bearish as palm oil will fall to 2,573 ringgit per tonne over the next four weeks, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said based on a wave analysis.

Brent crude, which fell more than $5 a barrel late Monday in a wave of late, high-volume selling, also dragged down palm oil prices, analysts said.

"I think this is in line with the global commodities sell-off," said Kenanga Investment's analyst Alan Lim Seong Chun.

"Because crude oil is the most representative of all the major assets in the commodities, I think sentiment for palm oil is very negative because of crude oil," he added.

Oil slipped to around $113 a barrel on Tuesday, extending the previous session's steep slide, on concerns about slowing global growth and signs that Saudi Arabia is pumping at high rates to dampen prices.

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery fell 0.4 percent by 1004 GMT. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 2.8 percent lower after hitting a near 1-month low.

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1006 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      OCT2    2714  -159.00    2683    2791     470
  MY PALM OIL      NOV2    2803  -133.00    2776    2850   15560
  MY PALM OIL      DEC2    2861  -125.00    2827    2894   28982
  CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN3    7744  -278.00    7706    7866  287684
  CHINA SOYOIL     JAN3    9820  -286.00    9756    9922  598680
  CBOT SOY OIL     DEC2   55.15    -0.24   54.82   55.72   13716
  NYMEX CRUDE      OCT2   96.31    -0.31   95.96   97.23   24402

  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