VEGOILS-Palm hits 4-1/2 month low as Malaysia raises export tax

* Palm sees eighth straight session of losses

* Mkt down 4.3 pct so far this week, sharpest since Oct 2015

* Declining rival oils also weigh on sentiment

(Updates latest prices)

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures

extended losses into an eighth straight session on Wednesday and

hit a four-and-a-half month low, pressured by declining rival

oils and the announcement of an increase in crude palm oil

export tax.

Benchmark palm oil futures for August delivery on

the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange were down 0.5 percent at

2,468 ringgit ($602) per tonne in the evening. Earlier in the

day, the contract hit its weakest level since Jan. 29 at 2,437

ringgit.

Palm oil has lost 4.3 percent so far this week, heading for

its sharpest weekly drop since October 2015.

Traded volume stood at 62,670 lots of 25 tonnes each at the

end of the trading day on Wednesday.

"The CPO (crude palm oil) tax rise to 6 percent is negative

as it reduces our competitiveness," said a Kuala Lumpur-based

trader, comparing with Malaysian and Indonesian exports.

"Export data is supportive as it indicates an improvement

from the first 10 days of June, but it is factored in by the

market already and is unable to offset weak sentiment from

overseas markets."

Malaysian palm oil shipments rose by 0.5 percent in the

first half of June compared with the corresponding period in

May, according to data released by cargo surveyor Intertek

Testing Services on Wednesday.

Data from another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de

Surveillance, showed exports fell 3.4 percent in the first two

weeks of June as shipments to India, the largest consumer of

palm oil, fell on slowing demand after the Muslim holy month of

Ramadan.

Malaysia, the world's second largest palm producer, said on

Wednesday it would raise its CPO export tax to 6 percent in July

from 5.5 percent in June due to a higher calculated reference

price.

In competing vegetable oils, the Chicago Board of Trade

soyoil contract for July fell 0.7 percent and the

September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange

dropped 1.8 percent.

The offer price for crude palm kernel oil was at 5,423.35

ringgit per tonne (PKO-MYSTH-M1) on Wednesday evening, according

to price assessments by Thomson Reuters.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1033 GMT:

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL JUN6 0 +0.00 0 0 0

MY PALM OIL JUL6 2477 -11.00 2444 2507 2157

MY PALM OIL AUG6 2467 -14.00 2437 2502 26263

CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP6 5086 -140.00 5078 5192 731046

CHINA SOYOIL SEP6 6000 -110.00 5996 6122 507696

CBOT SOY OIL JUL6 32.31 -0.21 32.21 32.56 7742

INDIA PALM OIL JUN6 517.20 -1.40 514.20 517.7 1586

INDIA SOYOIL JUN6 634 -0.35 632 634.3 3900

NYMEX CRUDE JUL6 48.04 -0.45 47.55 48.24 81468

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 = 4.0950 ringgit)

($1 = 67.1075 Indian rupees)

($1 = 6.5809 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Adrian

Croft)