RUBBER MARKET ENDS MIXED AMID STRONGER RINGGIT AND REGIONAL TRENDS

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended mixed today, weighed down by the stronger ringgit against the US dollar and a mixed performance in regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said.

Nonetheless, she noted losses were limited by steady oil prices, concerns over tight supply due to adverse weather in Thailand and Malaysia, and optimism over potential United States (US) interest rate cuts.

“Japanese rubber futures remained relatively stable on Thursday as concerns over uncertain demand and declining synthetic rubber prices partially offset the impact of Southeast Asian supply disruptions caused by wet weather,” she told Bernama. 

The dealer also shared that oil prices rose slightly in Asian trade on Thursday driven by a larger-than-expected draw in the US inventories and increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“However, gains were capped by builds in US product inventories and cautious trading ahead of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) meeting later in the day, which is expected to provide more cues on supply trends,” she added.

Thailand’s Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rains from Dec 4-5, which could lead to flash floods and significant agricultural losses, potentially extending through Dec 6.

“The ongoing storms in Southeast Asia are expanding in scale, with no clear signs of easing. As the weather pattern transitions from El Nino to La Nina, significant disruptions to natural rubber production are occurring, pushing up prices again,” she added.

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) was down by 5.5 sen to 911.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk increased by 4.5 sen to 684.0 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 906.0 sen per kg, and latex-in-bulk was at 687.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA