Rubber Market Closes Lower In Line With Regional Futures Market

By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) -- The local rubber market closed lower on Thursday, in tandem with the downtrend in the regional rubber futures market due to the impact of US economic policies, said a dealer.

She said concern about Chinese manufacturing activity, coupled with global political uncertainties, also weighed on market sentiment.

"Nevertheless, further losses were capped by gains in benchmark crude oil prices and as the ringgit weakened against the US dollar amid supply disruption due to adverse weather conditions in Thailand and Malaysia," she told Bernama.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 was down by 9.5 sen to 879.50 sen per kilogramme (kg) from 889 sen on Dec 30, 2024, while latex in bulk fell by three sen to 694 sen per kg from 697 sen previously.

Meanwhile, MRB said it would publish the rubber reference price once daily at 3 pm, starting today.

-- BERNAMA