Indonesian palm oil prices were mixed on Thursday as choppy trading in Malaysian crude palm oil futures dampened trading interest. In Jakarta, crude palm oil at the state marketing centre's auction.
Which sells palm oil from state plantations, was sold at 5,442 rupiah ($0.595) a kilogram, compared to 5,460 on Wednesday, tracking easing Malaysian crude palm oil futures.
There was no auction in North Sumatra's Medan, the key port for palm oil exports. "Some sellers are not offering today because their stocks are limited and prices are a bit weak. So they want to wait until next week while watching for price leads," said a trader in Medan.
Malaysian crude palm oil futures were little changed in the trade midday Thursday with the market awaiting news on the export situation in the coming days. By lunch break the benchmark third-month May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchanges was down 3 ringgit at 1,957 ($559) ringgit a tonne.
The contract settled 10 ringgit at 1,950 ringgit a tonne on the day. In Jakarta, cooking oil was higher at 5,925 rupiah a kilogram, from 5,900 a kilogram on Wednesday aided by gains in soybean oil.
A bearish tone also reigned on the exports front, crude palm oil for March to June shipments was offered at $552.5 a tonne. Buyers bid at $547.5 a tonne, but no trade was reported. "Prices have been very volatile and that have damped overseas demand," said another trader in Medan.