JAKARTA, July 11: Indonesian palm oil prices rose on Friday, lifted by gains in Malaysia and good demand from local refiners.

In Jakarta, the state marketing centre sold crude palm oil at 9,502 rupiah ($1.04) a kg, up from 8,903 rupiah a kg on Wednesday.

Gains in Malaysia pushed up local prices and local demand was also stronger, especially from refiners as they are starting to stock up, said an auction official at the centre, which sells palm oil from state plantations.

Producers in North Sumatra’s Medan -- which is home to Belawan port, the country’s key port for palm oil exports -- did not hold an auction on Friday.

Malaysia has been gaining, that’s why our prices increased, said a dealer at a plantation firm in Medan.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures nudged up on Friday, supported by gains in crude oil overnight.

The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended the day up 64 ringgit to 3,575 ringgit a ton.

Despite gains in crude palm oil, the price of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein -- used as cooking oil -- was unchanged at 9,100 rupiah a kg as demand remained sluggish.

We have plenty of stock because it is harvest season, but demand is not yet high, said a dealer at a refinery in Jakarta.

There was no price quotation on the export front.—Reuters