May 13, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1429

JAKARTA, May 12: Indonesian palm oil prices rose on Monday, bolstered by a 3.7 per cent jump in Malaysia crude palm oil futures, but dealers said higher prices triggered cautious trading.

At the state marketing centre in Jakarta, crude palm oil traded at 10,065 rupiah ($1.09) free on board Belawan, up 1.1 per cent from 9,947 rupiah a kg on Friday.

In North Sumatra’s Medan, producers of crude palm oil preferred not to hold palm oil auctions.

Malaysia’s crude palm oil market jumped today, local prices then followed in line, so we would rather wait for prices to calm, said a crude palm oil dealer in Medan, where Belawan port — the key port for palm oil exports — is located.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures jumped 3.7 per cent on Monday to hit their highest in more than three weeks.

The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 128 ringgit to 3,623 ringgit ($1,127), a level unseen since April 18.

By the midday break, the contract was up 95 ringgit at 3,590 ringgit.

The jump in Malaysia also lifted the prices of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein used as cooking oil.

In Jakarta, cooking oil was offered at 10,400 rupiah a kg or up 3.48 per cent from 10,050 rupiah a kg on Friday.

Buyers thought the prices were too high, we had a quiet day because of that, said a cooking oil dealer in the capital.

On the export front, crude palm oil for May shipment was offered at $1,170 a ton free on board Belawan, up $40 from Friday with buyers bid at $1,155 a ton.—Reuters