Indonesian palm oil prices softened on Tuesday, pressured by losses in the Malaysian market and the rupiah's gains against the dollar. In North Sumatra's Medan, crude palm oil sold at 5,350 rupiah ($0.591) a kg at local auctions, down from 5,415 rupiah on Monday.
The state marketing centre in Jakarta, which sells palm oil from state plantations, did not hold local auctions. "Prices came down because of Malaysia's losses today and also the rupiah is a bit firmer against the dollar," said a dealer in Medan, a key port for palm oil exports.
Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended 1.8 percent lower on Tuesday as a firmer ringgit encouraged investors to continue selling. The rupiah gained against the dollar on Tuesday at 9,049 rupiah per dollar, from 9,060 on Monday.
A stronger rupiah makes the commodity traded in dollars cheaper in local currency terms. In Jakarta, RBD palm olein, used to make cooking oil, was quoted at 5,885 rupiah a kg, slightly down from 5,900 on Monday.
"Buyers started to purchase for stocks, braving floods in the capital," said a dealer in Jakarta. Floods in the capital, the worst in five years, since last week had affected trading activities of some cooking oil producers and hampered deliveries of the commodity to buyers.
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