Indonesian palm oil prices fell as much as 2 percent on Thursday, dragged down by losses in Malaysia and concerns about higher inventories, dealers said. The state marketing centre in Jakarta sold crude palm oil at 9,335 rupiah ($1.01) a kg, down 2 percent from 9,530 rupiah on Wednesday.
An auction official at the centre, which sells palm oil from state plantations, said that with the approach of the peak harvesting season, many producers have built up stocks of palm oil while demand is slowing down.
Producers in North Sumatra's Medan, home to Belawan port, which is the key port for palm oil exports, sold crude palm oil at 9,400 rupiah a kg, down nearly 1 percent from 9,493 rupiah on Wednesday. Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell 1.7 percent to hit a one-week low on Thursday, on fears of swelling stocks amid slowing overseas demand.
The benchmark September contract fell 61 ringgit to 3,579 ringgit ($1,098) a tonne on the day. In Jakarta, refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm oil, which is used as cooking oil, was offered at 9,575-9,600 rupiah a kg, down from 9,650-9,675 rupiah on Wednesday. "There is plenty of cooking oil in the market so producers are reducing their offer price" in order to attract buyers, said a dealer in a refinery in Jakarta. In the export market, dealers said there were no price quotations.
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