April 19, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1429

JAKARTA, April 18: In Malaysia, palm oil futures fell on Friday as indications of a supply build-up and the rapidly appreciating ringgit prompted some investors to cash in.

Indonesian palm oil prices eased on Friday as the Malaysian market slipped.

Crude palm oil at the state marketing centre in Jakarta eased to 9,853 rupiah ($1.07) a kg, from 9,896 rupiah. But producers in North Sumatra’s Medan did not hold any auction.

Malaysia has been easing in the past days. It’s not really attractive for trading, said a dealer in a plantation firm in Medan, where Belawan port, one of the country’s key ports for palm oil exports, is located.

The benchmark July contract had dropped 17 ringgit to 3,615 ringgit ($1,151) a ton by lunch break. But the contract ended down 79 ringgit at 3,553 ringgit a ton on the day.

But demand for palm oil, which has risen about 17 per cent already this year, along with other vegetable oils is likely to remain firm in the coming weeks given a steady stream of buying from China and India, other dealers have said.

In Jakarta, the price of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein -- used as cooking oil -- also eased to 10,000 rupiah a kg, from 10,075-10,100 rupiah a kg on Thursday.—Reuters