Indonesian palm oil prices were mixed on Friday as news of a government decision to keep palm oil tax at 6.5 percent for a couple of months failed to impress players. At the state marketing centre in Jakarta, which sells palm oil from state plantations, crude palm oil sold at 6,642 rupiah a kg, down from 6,656 rupiah on Monday.
There were no auctions from Tuesday to Thursday. Traders at the auction said prices offered by the government were still too high. There was no auction in North Sumatra's Medan on Friday. The market was subdued despite news that the government was likely to maintain the palm oil export tax at 6.5 percent for a couple of months. "The government is not clear. They say one thing and then suddenly they raise the export tax. So the market is quite used to it," said a trader in Medan.
The government recently raised the export tax for crude palm oil to 6.5 percent from 1.5 percent and for palm oil products to 6.5 percent from 0.3 percent to ease cooking oil prices, which have jumped nearly 30 percent on surging global prices.
Gains in the Malaysia market also pushed prices of non-branded cooking oil to 7,125 rupiah from 7,100 on Thursday. Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged higher on firm rival soyaboil.
"Prices just track Malaysia but demand is quite good. Some buyers take olein to refill their stocks," said a trader based in Jakarta, adding 500 tonnes changed hands. No prices were quoted on the export front, reflecting dull trading.