JAKARTA, Jan 11: Indonesia palm oil prices extended gains as the Malaysian market hit fresh record on Friday with buyers returning to the market, worried that prices may go up further.

The state marketing centre in Jakarta did not hold any auction following a government holiday to celebrate Muslim New Year, which fell on Thursday.

Markets were closed on Thursday for the Muslim New Year. Prices have been gaining a lot in the past days, we just hope they won’t plunge, said a dealer in a plantation firm in Medan, the home of Belawan port, the key port for palm oil exports.

But the price gains have forced buyers to take a position. They’re afraid prices could go up further. Malaysian crude palm oil futures scaled a new peak on Friday, ahead of an industry regulator’s release of production figures as investors heavily bet that last month’s floods had crimped output.

The benchmark March contract closed up 79 ringgit to 3,280 per ton ($1,007) ringgit per ton, exceeding a high of 3,204 ringgit on Wednesday. Prices of palm oil, used in products from cooking oil to soaps and biodiesel, have rallied in recent weeks due to the combination of demand across Asia, talk of a cut in Indian import duties for vegetable oils and surging global crude and vegetable oil markets.

The price of refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein, used as cooking oil, rose to 8,800-8,900 rupiah a kg, up from 8,700-8,725 rupiah on Wednesday. —Reuters