Rubber Market Ends Mixed

By K Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed today amid concerns over global economic stability following the continued escalation in the Middle East. 

A dealer noted that oil prices edged higher today on concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict may intensify, raising the risk of further unrest and the potential disruption of oil supply from the key Middle East producing region.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil prices increased 1.16 per cent to US$74.08 per barrel.

The dealer also said regional rubber futures rose as worsening weather affected harvesting in key production areas, but gains were limited by weak demand from China.

“It was reported that top rubber producer Thailand’s meteorological agency warned of heavy rains and accumulations that could cause flash floods from June 20 to 22, adding that farmers should be wary of potential crop damage,” she said. 

However, she said that weak global investment trends continued to weigh on sentiment, citing the World Bank’s latest report, which shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing economies fell to its lowest since 2005, potentially curbing future demand growth for natural rubber.

She added that most Asian stocks traded in a flat-to-lower range on Tuesday, as investors remained on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict, particularly after United States President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Tehran.

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by the upward momentum in the regional rubber futures markets amid traders’ concern for raw material supply owing to bad weather in major producing countries.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) fell by 3.0 sen to 705.00 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk rose by 3.0 sen to 584.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA