* Palm up on Indian tax cut after losses in previous session

* The oil hits intraday high of 2,737 ringgit/tonne

* Palm targets 2,761 ringgit/T - technicals

(Updates latest prices)

27/09/2016 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures recovered on Monday to hit a five-month high after a cut in Indian import duty raised expectations there would be higher demand from the world's biggest edible oil importer.

Benchmark palm oil futures for December on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1.5 percent to 2,715 ringgit ($658) a tonne on Monday after earlier touching a five-month high of 2,737 ringgit, the strongest since April 21.

Volume at the closing trade was 42,791 lots of 25 tonnes, below the 2015 daily average of 44,600.

The contract fell 1.8 percent on Friday, weighed down by lower demand and profit-taking.

India said on Friday it would lower its import duty on crude palm oil and refined vegetable oils by five percentage points to 7.5 percent and 15 percent, respectively, as part of efforts to curb food inflation.

Traders say the new rate was expected to boost palm exports, which have slowed this month due to weaker demand from India.

Palm oil shipments from Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, fell nearly 16 percent in the Sept. 1-25 period from the corresponding period last month, data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance showed on Monday.

Separately, the ringgit weakened 0.4 percent against the dollar to 4.1260 as of 1030 GMT on Monday, making the tropical oil, which is traded in ringgit, cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.

"The market is up on late Friday's news and the weaker ringgit," said a futures trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to India's cut in import taxes on wheat, crude palm oil and refined vegetable oils. "More imports from India will be coming."

Demand from top consumers China and India usually weakens in the final quarter of the yea as cold temperatures in the northern hemisphere solidify the tropical oil and make it less appealing to buyers.

Palm is seen maintaining a target of 2,761 ringgit per tonne, according to Reuters' market analyst for commodities and energy technicals, Wang Tao.

In related oils, the Chicago Board of Trade's soybean oil December contract rose 0.6 percent while the January soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed 0.8 percent.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1042 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL OCT6 2896 +37.00 2887 2920 1480

MY PALM OIL NOV6 2772 +43.00 2745 2796 5319

MY PALM OIL DEC6 2712 +39.00 2690 2737 22350

CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN7 5814 +66.00 5686 5832 1284008

CHINA SOYOIL JAN7 6458 +54.00 6352 6478 565816

CBOT SOY OIL DEC6 33.75 +0.18 33.48 33.94 11835

INDIA PALM OIL SEP6 577.60 -3.60 577.20 583.6 1748

INDIA SOYOIL OCT6 661.5 +1.15 659.8 664.7 45930

NYMEX CRUDE NOV6 45.01 +0.53 44.43 45.22 90184

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
India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg
Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 4.1260 ringgit)
($1 = 66.6600 Indian rupees)
($1 = 6.6686 Chinese yuan)