Rubber Market Ends Mixed Amid Tight Rubber Supply Concerns

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended mixed on Friday due to concerns over supply disruptions caused by rain and floods in key producing countries, a dealer said.

She said market sentiment was also lifted by the expectation of improved Chinese economic data boosted by the country’s additional fiscal stimulus and gains in crude oil prices as traders monitor the uncertainties of geopolitical tension in the Middle East.

“Nevertheless, further gains were capped by a stronger ringgit against the US dollar ahead of the Chinese economic data,” she told Bernama.

The dealer said that Japanese rubber futures rose on Friday and were on track to gain for the week, buoyed by firmer economic data from top consumer China and higher synthetic rubber prices.

“It was reported that southern Thailand continues to endure heavy rainfall, with the country's Meteorological Department warning that downpours will persist across eight provinces until December 1, exacerbating already critical flood conditions after a week of relentless rain.

“Meanwhile, several rubber-producing states in Malaysia were badly hit by floods resulting from the continuous rains,” she said.

The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) was up by 9.5 sen to 879 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk fell by 3.5 sen to 673.5 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 875.5 sen per kg, and latex-in-bulk was at 672 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA