26/02/2013 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped to a one-month low on Tuesday as weak overseas vegetable oil markets kept investors on edge, although upbeat export data helped limit losses.

China and U.S. soy markets, which are tracked by palm, remained weak after suffering steep falls on Monday and as better weather in the U.S. Midwest and South America improved the prospects for supply.

Stronger-than-expected exports in the first 25 days of February, buoyed by increased shipments of Malaysian palm oil products to Europe and India, kept prices from tumbling further.

"The cash trade was limited on light-to-moderate demand in all regions today, but the futures market drew some support from the 25 days Feb export report," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Malaysia.

The USDA outlook numbers, with projections of a record soybean crop at 3.4 billion bushels, are bearish, he added.

"This certainly spells trouble for palm oil in the second quarter of 2013."

By the midday break, the benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had inched down 0.8 percent to 2,451 ringgit ($790) per tonne. Prices earlier fell to 2,448 ringgit, the lowest since Jan. 29.

Total traded volume stood at 12,705 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 12,500 lots.

Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil is expected to rebound into a range of 2,506-2,521 ringgit per tonne, as a correction from the Feb. 20 high of 2,584 ringgit could have temporarily completed, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Investors are pinning hopes on healthy exports alongside seasonally slowing production to ease the current 2.58 million tonne stockpile in Malaysia, the world's No.2 producer.

"At the end of the month we might see an 18 percent drop in production. And with this kind of exports, we will definitely see a drawdown in the stocks," said a trader who deals with a foreign commodities brokerage.

Brent crude futures fell by more than a dollar to one-month lows below $114 a barrel on Tuesday, hit by worries over demand growth as a potential political vacuum in Italy revived fears over instability in the debt-plagued euro zone.     

In competing vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil for May delivery fell 1 percent in early Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange inched down 0.6 percent.

  Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0520 GMT

  Contract        Month    Last   Change     Low    High  Volume
  MY PALM OIL      MAR3    2401   -18.00    2400    2422     212
  MY PALM OIL      APR3    2431   -18.00    2429    2452    1197
  MY PALM OIL      MAY3    2451   -19.00    2448    2474    6754
  CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP3    6786   -26.00    6768    6828  409978
  CHINA SOYOIL     SEP3    8390   -52.00    8378    8448  402654
  CBOT SOY OIL     MAY3   49.91    -0.53   49.91   50.50    4882
  NYMEX CRUDE      APR3   92.46    -0.65   91.92   92.65    8617

  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
  ($1= 3.104 ringgit)