Indonesian palm oil prices edged higher on Friday, supported by demand from local refiners and gains by Malaysian futures. At the state marketing centre in Jakarta, which sells palm oil from state plantations, crude palm oil traded at 6,819 rupiah ($0.757) a kilogram, slightly up from 6,765 rupiah on Thursday.
"Local refiners need crude palm oil. This pushes the prices up," said Aziz Kahar, the head of palm oil sales at the centre, adding Malaysian gains also helped lift prices.
Malaysian crude palm futures rose slightly in thin trade on Friday as prices of rival soybean moved higher. There was no auction in Medan, the leading port for palm oil exports. In Jakarta, cooking oil was up to 7,210 rupiah from 7,200 on Thursday.
"Malaysia was slightly up this morning, it influenced our prices," said a Jakarta-based trader. Indonesia has raised base export prices for palm oil products to bring them in line with international prices. However, dealers said the increases did not affect the market since they had prepared for them.
On the export market, crude palm oil for July shipment was offered at $745 a tonne free on board Belawan, down $5 from Thursday. Buyers bid at $732.5 but no deals were reported. August shipments have been unchanged since Thursday at $740 a tonne. Buyers bid at $730, with no deals reported.
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