Rubber Market Ends Mixed Amid Tariff Concerns And Oil Price Decline

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed on Friday, tracking declines in regional rubber futures markets amid rising concerns over the US trade tariff decision, said a dealer.

The dealer noted that market sentiment was also weighed down by losses in crude oil prices and a stronger ringgit against the US dollar.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil prices declined by 0.23 per cent to US$76.24 per barrel.

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by the persistent concerns of a shortage of natural rubber and increasing Chinese stimulus measures to boost their economic performance,” she told Bernama.

The People's Bank of China will further smoothen channels for stock, bond, and loan financing for private enterprises. It will also direct more efforts to boost consumption to lift people's livelihoods and adopt more targeted measures to stimulate consumer spending.

The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that SMR 20 decreased by three sen to 921.0 sen per kilogramme as of 3 pm while latex in bulk gained 2.5 sen to 696.0 sen per kilogramme.

-- BERNAMA