RUBBER MARKET ENDS MIXED AMIDST REGIONAL DOWNTREND

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended the week on a mixed note, amidst the downtrend in the regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said.

Speaking to Bernama, she said Japanese rubber futures faltered for the second consecutive session on Friday, weighed down by weaker seasonal demand concerns.

“Winter is the traditional off-season for demand in the automobile tyre industry, and the overall operating rate of rubber tyre producers in December is expected to decline,” she said. 

Nevertheless, the dealer noted that further losses were capped by the weaker ringgit against the US dollar.

At 5 pm, the ringgit fell to 4.4520/4570 against the greenback compared to Thursday’s close of 4.4350/4395.

According to the Malaysian Rubber Board, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) slid 14.5 sen to 889.00 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk increased 3.0 sen to 706.50 per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 898.50 sen per kg, while latex in bulk was at 712.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA