Indonesian palm oil prices were marginally lower on Wednesday dragged down by thin demand as players retreated from the market over losses in Malaysian crude palm oil futures. In North Sumatra's Medan, crude palm oil was traded at 5,370 rupiah ($0.589) per kilogram, slipping from 5,375-5,403 rupiah on Tuesday.
"Malaysia was down, so there weren't too many players showing in the market today," a trader in Medan said, adding 300 tonnes of crude palm oil were sold. Malaysian crude palm oil futures were lower at midday on Wednesday, presured by a decline in rival soyoil.
At lunch, the benchmark third-month April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange was down 15 ringgit at 1,932 ringgit ($552) a tonne after trading between 1,925 and 1,935 ringgit.
The decline in the international market pressured an auction at the state marketing centre which failed to sell 2,000 tonnes of crude palm oil as bids were too low.
The centre set the ideal price at 5,356 rupiah per kilogram, while the highest bids stood at 5,351 rupiah. PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk also failed to sell 7,250 tonnes of crude palm oil due to low bids.
In Jakarta, cooking oil was steady at 5,900 rupiah a kilogram in thin trade as limited stocks to offer and losses in Malaysia drove the players away, traders said.
On the exports front, sellers were offering February and March shipments at $547.5-550 a tonne, free on board Belawan. Buyers bid at $542.5 a tonne. April, May and June shipments were offered at $547.5 per tonne, while bids stood at $542.5.
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