Rubber Market Ends Mixed In Tandem With Regional Futures

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed on Wednesday in tandem with regional rubber futures markets as strong United States (US) economic data weakened prospects of an aggressive US interest rate cut, said a dealer.

She said market sentiment was dented by losses in crude oil prices and as the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar. 

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by concerns for tight natural rubber (NR) supply due to unfavourable weather conditions in major NR-producing countries,” she told Bernama.

The dealer said Shanghai rubber futures rose more than four per cent on Wednesday as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend, with weather-related disruptions in top producer Thailand underpinning the market.

She noted that continuous rain in Thailand has disrupted rubber-tapping work, factory production and transportation, keeping raw materials prices high.

“Oil prices fell on Wednesday and were set to snap a two-session winning streak ahead of a likely interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve,” she added.

At 5 pm, Brent crude oil prices decreased 1.26 per cent to US$72.79 per barrel.

The Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) dropped 2.5 sen to 836.5 sen per kilogramme (kg) while latex-in-bulk increased by three sen to 684 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, physical SMR 20 stood at 831.5 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk was at 686 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA