Indonesia crude palm oil rose on Thursday, boosted by gains on the Malaysian market, while olein prices were underpinned by delays in raw material shipments. In North Sumatra's Medan, crude palm oil was sold between 7,290-7,300 rupiah ($0.785-$0.786) a kilogram, up from 7,214-7,263 rupiah a kilo on Tuesday.
"It's only the Malaysia factor driving prices up. There are no other factors. Rupiah is still within range and we don't see an unusual jump in demand," said a Medan-based trader.
At the state marketing centre, crude palm oil was sold at 7,375 rupiah a kilogram, 7,400 rupiah a kilogram and 7,475 rupiah a kilogram, free on board Teluk Bayer, West Kalimantan and Boom Barrio respectively.
Prices rose from 7,383-7,443 rupiah a kilogram last week. But the centre did not manage to sell crude palm oil from Begawan/Dumai basis, which is the benchmark for the centre's palm oil prices.
"Buyers need crude palm oil to anticipate demand in the fasting month and also for daily production," said Aziz Kara, the centre's head of palm oil marketing. No auctions took place on the Indonesian crude palm oil market on Wednesday as elections for the influential post of Jakarta governor dampened trading.
Offices in Jakarta were close to giving their staff a chance to vote. Malaysian crude palm oil futures jumped nearly 2 percent on Thursday, buoyed by robust prices of rival soyabean oil with the benchmark October contract rose 48 ringgit or 1.9 percent at 2,548 ringgit ($738) per tonne by lunch break.