April 29, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1429

JAKARTA, April 28: Indonesian palm oil prices rose on Monday, lifted by Malaysian crude palm oil futures and demand from local refiners.

In Jakarta, the state marketing centre sold crude palm oil at 9,968 rupiah ($1.08) a kg, an increase of 1.6 per cent from 9,810 rupiah a kg on Friday.

Demand from local refiners pushed up auction prices. Buyers actually paid higher than our offering price of 9,860 rupiah, said an auction official at the centre which sells palm oil from state plantations.

Producers in North Sumatra’s Medan did not hold crude palm oil auctions.

“Buyers are quiet today because Malaysia gained sharply, said a palm oil trader at a plantation firm in Medan, where Belawan port -- the key port for palm oil export -- is located.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose on Monday as global vegetable oil prices climbed on the back of record crude oil prices, traders said.

The benchmark July contract rose 91 ringgit to 3,510 ringgit ($1,111) a ton on the day.

Palm oil prices have tumbled around 23 per cent from record highs last month on a bearish mixture of ringgit strength and dismal Asian demand although some traders say a recovery in buying is possible.

Gains in Malaysia also lifted the prices of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein -- used as cooking oil -- in Jakarta, to 9,950-9,975 rupiah a kg, from 9,900 rupiah a kg on Friday.

At the export front, sellers offered crude palm oil for shipment in May at $1,153 a ton, but buyers did not bid for the shimpent.

Buyers retreated from the market because prices rose sharply today. They will return when prices are stable, said the Medan-dealer.—Reuters