Rubber Market Closes Lower In Line With Regional Downtrend

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- The local rubber market closed lower on Wednesday in tandem with a downtrend in the regional rubber futures market, a dealer said.

She said losses in crude oil prices also dragged down market sentiment.

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by persistent concerns over a natural rubber (NR) supply shortage and Chinese stimulus measures.

“China unlocked more fiscal stimulus on Wednesday, signalling greater efforts to boost consumption and safeguard the economy’s path towards this year’s roughly 5 per cent growth target amid an escalating trade war with the US,” she told Bernama.

The dealer noted that Japanese rubber futures fell to a nearly two-month low on Wednesday, pressured by fears of an escalating global trade war following fresh US tariffs.

She reckoned that the US tariffs had caused market concerns. NR had fallen along with other bulk commodities after the US government upheld its decision to impose import tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.

At 4.11 pm, Brent crude oil prices declined by 0.18 per cent to US$70.92 per barrel.

The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 eased by 18.5 sen to 909.0 sen per kilogramme (kg) as of 3 pm, while latex in bulk fell by five sen to 712.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA