RUBBER MARKET ENDS HIGHER ON TIGHT NR SUPPLY CONCERNS

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended higher on Monday, supported by tight natural rubber (NR) supply concerns due to inclement weather forecasts in major producing countries, a dealer said.

According to Thailand’s meteorological agency, heavy rains may cause flash floods from Oct 27-Nov 2, 2024.

The dealer said sentiments were also lifted by continuous buying, supported by the weaker ringgit against the US dollar.

“Nevertheless, further gains were capped by the weak performance of the regional rubber futures markets owing to mixed cues on China’s economy and losses in crude oil prices,” she told Bernama.

It was reported that China's fiscal revenue in the first nine months of 2024 fell 2.2 per cent year-on-year, while oil prices tumbled more than US$3 a barrel on Monday after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies.

At the time of writing, benchmark Brent crude oil fell 5.42 per cent to US$71.94 a barrel.

The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased by eight sen to 863.0 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk gained two sen to 748.5 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 869.0 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 748.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA