Rubber Market Set To Trade Sideways With Slight Upward Bias Next Week

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- The rubber market is expected to remain quiet next week, moving sideways with a slight upward bias, said industry expert Denis Low.

The market is currently influenced by broadly offsetting supply and demand factors, he told Bernama.

“The Malaysian Meteorological Department is forecasting isolated thunderstorms and rain in several states in Peninsular Malaysia, while continuous rainfall is expected in the northeastern region.

“Reduced tapping activity is likely, and if the rain persists, there could be a temporary supply shortage. In such a situation, it would be prudent to purchase and hold some stocks, especially given increasingly unpredictable weather patterns as climate change becomes inevitable,” he said.

Low added that when holding inventory, market participants should also pay close attention to geopolitical developments, particularly in East Asia and Europe.

He noted that volatile exchange rates have also affected the outlook for the rubber market.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) was unchanged at 743.5 sen per kilogramme (kg) while latex-in-bulk added one sen to 575 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA