RUBBER MARKET ENDS MIXED AMID GAINS IN CRUDE OIL PRICES

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market continued to end mixed on Wednesday amid gains in crude oil prices, a dealer said.

She said the market sentiment remains supported by concerns over the global natural rubber supply and positive Chinese automobile sales.

“Nevertheless, further gains were capped by losses in regional rubber futures markets, ahead of key United States inflation data,” she told Bernama.

She noted that oil prices edged up on signs of near-term supply tightness but remained near its two-week low a day after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries downgraded its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025 to 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) and 1.54 million bpd, respectively.

Meanwhile, she said Japanese rubber futures weakened for the fourth consecutive session today as top consumer China's economic data fell below expectations despite fresh stimulus measures from Beijing, although a weaker yen limited the decline.

At the same time, she said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that China's auto sales rose seven per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 3.05 million units in October.

“In the first 10 months of the year, auto sales exceeded 24.6 million units, up 2.7 per cent y-o-y,” she added.

According to the Malaysian Rubber Board, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) declined by 5.5 sen to 854.00 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk increased by 0.5 sen to 670.00 per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 854.00 sen per kg, while latex in bulk was at 670.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA