* Prices rise as much as 3.1 pct to 2,168 ringgit

* Malaysian ringgit weakens to 3.6100 per dollar

* Palm oil to fall to 2,114 ringgit - technicals

3 percent on Tuesday to their highest in nearly two weeks as the ringgit slid

and overseas soyoil markets tracked by palm underpinned sentiment.

The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives

exchange rose as much as 3.1 percent to 2,168 ringgit ($601) a tonne, its

highest since April 24, on reopening after a long weekend. It settled at 2,156

ringgit, up 2.6 percent, by the day's close.

After strong gains last week, the Malaysian ringgit slumped on

Tuesday, touching 3.6100 per dollar, which helped stoke buying interest from

overseas palm investors. The currency was down 1.4 percent at 3.6090 by 1026

GMT, marking its biggest intraday drop in nearly five months.

"Previously, the market was under pressure because the ringgit went up so

much... but people's idea is that the ringgit will not stay strong for so

long," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

"Palm prices will find a new balance - they will move up to a slightly

higher level because soy has also gone up quite a bit."

The U.S. July soyoil contract rose 0.2 percent in late Asian trade,

while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian

Commodity Exchange gained 1.9 percent.

The rally in soyoil, which stemmed from talk of rising demand on the export

market and increased appetite for the vegetable oil, also drove up U.S. soybean

futures to $9.79-1/4 a bushel.

Palm oil typically tracks soyoil, a common food and fuel rival.

Total traded volume on Tuesday stood at 49,664 lots of 25 tonnes each,

higher than the usual 35,000 lots.

Technicals, however, painted a bearish outlook. Palm oil is expected to fall

to 2,114 ringgit per tonne, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci

projection analysis, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

In other markets, Brent crude oil steadied above $66 a barrel on Tuesday,

just below its 2015 high, after protesters shut down the eastern Libyan oil port

of Zueitina, hampering exports.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1029 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL MAY5 2136 +66.00 2120 2136 91

MY PALM OIL JUN5 2160 +55.00 2143 2171 3236

MY PALM OIL JUL5 2156 +54.00 2139 2168 28708

CHINA PALM OLEIN SEP5 5050 +106.00 4984 5092 1182844

CHINA SOYOIL SEP5 5878 +110.00 5816 5934 1425754

CBOT SOY OIL JUL5 32.69 -1.40 32.58 32.90 11922

INDIA PALM OIL MAY5 443.90 -1.40 443.10 447.40 1050

INDIA SOYOIL JUN5 597.85 +2.15 594.50 600.50 44820

NYMEX CRUDE JUN5 59.41 +0.48 58.63 59.52 24220

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 = 3.6090 Malaysian ringgit)

($1 = 6.2062 Chinese yuan)

($1 = 63.49 Indian rupees)