MUMBAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains in early trade on Friday, helped by a likely drop in the production in December in top producing countries because of dry weather and falling stocks.

The benchmark palm oil contract for February delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 16 ringgit, or 0.43%, to 3,704 ringgit ($793.66) in the early trade. It rose 0.57% on Thursday.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysia's palm oil stocks at the end of November fell for the first time in seven months as production slumped more than exports, data from industry regulator showed on Tuesday.

* Indonesia plans to set its crude palm oil (CPO) reference price at $767.51 per metric ton for the Dec. 16-31 period, a trade ministry official said on Thursday, down from $795.14 in the first half of the month.

* Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Dec. 1-Dec. 10 fell 4.1% to 7.4% from the Nov. 1-10 period, cargo surveyors said.

* Soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.76%. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

* Palm oil may bounce into a range of 3,775-3,781 ringgit per metric ton, driven by a wave c., Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao said.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares hit a four-month peak as sharp declines in the dollar and U.S. yields extended the Fed-fuelled rally.

* Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Friday, on track to notch their first weekly rise in two months after benefiting from a bullish forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on oil demand for next year and a weaker dollar.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0200 China Urban Investment (YTD) YY Nov 0200 China Retail Sales YY Nov 0200 China Unemp Rate Urban Area Nov 0745 France CPI (EU Norm) Final MM, YY Nov 0815 France HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Dec 0830 Germany HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Dec 0900 EU HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs Dec 0930 UK Flash Comp, Mfg, Serv PMIs Dec 1000 EU Total Trade Balance SA Oct 1100 EU Reserve Assets Total Nov 1415 US Industrial Production MM Nov 1445 US S&P Global Mfg, Comp, Serv Flash PMIs Dec

($1 = 4.6670 ringgit) (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Rashmi Aich)