KL Rubber Market Eases, Tracks Regional Futures Markets

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market eased slightly on Monday, in tandem with regional rubber futures markets, said a dealer. 

The dealer said market sentiment was influenced by US economic data uncertainty with the prospect of US interest rates remaining higher for longer. 

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar and gains in crude oil prices with the Brent crude rising above US$81 per barrel, as wider US sanctions are expected to affect Russian crude exports to top buyers China and India,” she told Bernama. 

New sanctions would hurt Russian oil exports and push China and India, the world’s top and third-largest oil importers, respectively, to source more crude from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, boosting prices and shipping costs. 

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 and latex in bulk each fell by 2.50 sen per kilogramme (kg) to 873.50 sen per kg and 674.00 sen per kg, respectively.

-- BERNAMA