February 21, 2008	Thursday	Safar 13, 1429

JAKARTA, Feb 20: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose nearly 1 per cent to hit a fresh peak on Wednesday as crude oil rose above $100 a barrel overnight.

Indonesian crude palm oil prices at the state marketing centre hit a fresh peak for the third day in a row on Wednesday, boosted by strong demand and gains in Malaysian crude palm oil futures.

The state marketing centre in Jakarta, which sells palm oil from state plantations, sold crude palm oil at 10,086 rupiah ($1.10) a kg on Wednesday, up from 10,025 rupiah on Tuesday.

The crude palm oil price in the international market has gained. Demand from the local market is also strong because we managed to sell all the oils, said an official at the auction, adding that the 10,500 tons offered at auction sold out.

It was the seventh time this year that the auction set a new record. The price has climbed more than 15 per cent since the start of 2008, following a 51 per cent rise in 2007 at the state auction.

Producers in North Sumatra’s Medan did not hold an auction for crude palm oil on Wednesday, as they said the price was too high to attract any buyers.

The price went up drastically in such a short time. It’s normal that buyers want to wait, looking at market direction, said a crude palm oil trader in Medan, home of Belawan port, Indonesia’s key port for palm oil export.

If buyers don’t want to buy, sellers can’t do anything.

The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was up 25 ringgit at 3,650 ringgit ($1,133) by midday, but ended on Wednesday at 3,624 ringgit a ton.

Record highs boosted the price of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm olein, used as cooking oil, in Jakarta to 10,200 rupiah a kg, from 9,900 rupiah on Tuesday.

In the export market, sellers offered crude palm oil for February shipment at $1,130 a ton and March shipment at $1,135 a ton, free on board Belawan, but buyers did not bid for either shipment.—Reuters