RUBBER MARKET CLOSES MIXED IN TANDEM WITH REGIONAL FUTURES

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed on Thursday amid the mixed performance of regional rubber futures markets and oil prices as well as the latest rubber statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), a dealer said.

“Nonetheless, further losses were capped by prolonged concerns over natural rubber (NR) supply disruption due to inclement weather in major NR-producing countries,” she told Bernama.

Market sentiment was also cushioned by US consumer inflation reading that cemented bets for a December Federal Reserve interest-rate cut, coupled with encouraging Chinese automobile sales as China signaled more incoming economic support.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that China's auto production rose 11.1 per cent year-on-year to 3.44 million units in November 2024 while sales climbed 11.7 per cent from a year earlier to 3.32 million units, the dealer said.

Meanwhile, DOSM today reported that NR production increased by 20.6 per cent in October 2024 to 38,400 tonnes from 31,847 tonnes in September 2024.

Year-on-year comparison also showed that NR output increased by 16.6 per cent (October 2023: 32,944 tonnes), it added.

According to the Malaysian Rubber Board, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) fell by 11.5 sen to 904 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk increased by three sen to 701 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 903.5 sen per kg, while latex in bulk was at 703.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA