Indonesian palm oil prices edged higher on Thursday, tracking gains by Malaysian crude palm oil futures, but trading remain thin as buyers remained wary of recent market turbulence. The state marketing centre in Jakarta sold crude palm oils at 8,338 rupiah ($0.904) a kg, up from 8,253 rupiah on Wednesday.
But crude palm oil prices in North Sumatra's Medan barely moved at 8,270 rupiah a kg, against 8,277 rupiah on Wednesday. "Malaysia has often been see-sawing so buyers are trading cautiously," said a dealer in a plantation firm in Medan, where Belawan port, the key port for palm oil exports, is located. Some 400 tonnes of crude palm oil changed hands, compared to between 1,000-3,000 tonnes during busy days.
Malaysian crude palm oil climbed on Thursday, boosted by strengthening soyabean oil prices and prospects of strong demand from India after New Delhi scrapped edible oil import tariffs.
Palm oil, used as a cooking oil and in products ranging from cosmetics, candies to biofuels, has lost close to 27 percent since hitting a record high of 4,486 ringgit a tonne last month. The benchmark June contract rose 141 ringgit to 3,311 ringgit ($1,038) a tonne in trade. The contract ended the day up 120 ringgit at 3,290 ringgit a tonne.
In Jakarta, refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein used as cooking oil was quoted higher at 9,050 rupiah a kg, compared to 9,000 rupiah on Thursday. But trading was thin as higher prices dampened buying interest. "People are getting tired of seeing the market continue to rise.
Some people wish prices could go back to the 7,000 rupiah level," said a cooking oil dealer for a Jakarta-based refiner that sells non-branded cooking oil for distributors. On the export front, a deal were made for crude palm oil at $1,065 a tonne, free on board Belawan port, for April delivery.
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