MUMBAI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains into a third straight session in early trade on Tuesday, tracking the strength in rival soyoil and expecting a drop in inventories.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 14 ringgit, or 0.37%, to 3,755 ringgit ($802.35) in the early trade.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.1%. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Malaysian palm oil inventories at the end of November were seen falling for the first month since April, as a seasonal output decline was expected to start while exports continued to rise, a Reuters survey showed. Malaysian Palm Oil Board is due to release data on Tuesday.

* Indonesia will continue its mandatory 35% biodiesel blending in 2024 and has allocated 13.41 million kilolitres of biodiesel for next year, slightly higher than the 13.15 million kilolitres allotted for 2023. Palm oil is used as feedstock to make biodiesel.

* Palm oil may break a resistance zone of 3,775-3,781 ringgit per metric ton, and rise into a range of 3,813-3,835 ringgit, Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao said.

* Weather forecasts show northern half of Brazil may still not be getting enough rain to offset drought conditions, which have delayed planting and threatened crops.

MARKET NEWS

* Oil prices held steady ahead of key interest rate policy and inflation data announcements, and amid doubts that production cuts by OPEC+ next year would offset crude oversupply and weaker fuel demand growth.

* Asian shares crept higher while the dollar eased as investors stayed cautious ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report later in the day that will set the tone for the week filled with central bank meetings.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Nov

0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Oct

0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Nov

1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Dec

1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Dec

1330 US Core CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA Nov

1330 US CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA Nov

1330 US CPI Wage Earner Nov ($1 = 4.6800 ringgit) (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Rashmi Aich)