Malaysian Rubber Market Likely To Be In Sluggish Mode Next Week

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 (Bernama) -- The local rubber market is expected to experience sluggish demand next week, and prices are likely to be range-bound with a slightly higher bias, said industry expert Denis Low.

He said the volatile weather conditions in rubber-producing regions would reduce rubber production and might trigger some stocking activity.

“This will help push up prices as supply could be short,” Low told Bernama. 

He also said the shipping disruption caused by the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea, along with the current geopolitical situation, has affected the supply chain.

This may lead to volatile commodity prices as the ongoing skirmishes in the Red Sea continue to disrupt shipping routes, Low added. 

“There will be sporadic and upward stocking demand, and traders need to be cautious as consumption remains sluggish,” he said, adding that commodity demand and prices could only increase when businesses and industries stabilise.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) said traders will review key United States inflation data released Friday (July 26) for more cues on interest rate cuts while keeping a close watch on the Middle East geopolitics.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, MRB’s reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased by 0.5 sen to 772.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk rose by 10.5 sen to 625.5 sen.

At 5 pm, the MRB reference price for physical SMR 20 stood at 767 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 626.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA