Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday, tracking weakness in crude and other vegetable oil prices amid fears surging Omicron cases globally would hurt demand. The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.41% to 4,390 ringgit ($1,038.81) in early trade. It had plunged 8.2% last week in its worst performance since June, weighed down by disappointing export data for the first half of the month. FUNDAMENTALS * Dalian"s soyoil contract fell 0.72% while its palm oil contract lost 1.66%. Soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade for May delivery fell 0.74%. * Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. * Oil prices slumped by about 2% as surging cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States stoked investor worries that new restrictions on businesses to combat its spread may hit fuel demand. * Weaker crude oil futures typically make palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. MARKET NEWS * Asian share markets fell and oil prices slid as surging Omicron cases triggered tighter restrictions in Europe and threatened to drag on the global economy into the new year. DATA/EVENTS No major event expected ($1 = 4.2260 ringgit) Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.