LOCAL RUBBER MARKET CLOSES LOWER, IN TANDEM WITH REGIONAL DOWNTREND

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- The local rubber market closed lower on Monday, in tandem with the downtrend in regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said.

She said the market was muted, with thin trading ahead of the festive season and the end of the year. 

“Nonetheless, further losses were capped by gains in crude oil prices amid concerns of supply disruption due to ongoing rains and floods in major natural rubber-producing countries,” she told Bernama.

The dealer noted that Japanese rubber futures fell on Monday as trading thinned ahead of the year-end while investors looked for further stimulus in top consumer China.

Meanwhile, she said the Thai Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy rain and isolated thundershowers in Southern Thailand until Dec 27, while the Malaysian Meteorological Department expects rubber-producing states to experience rain and thunderstorms from Dec 23-29.

According to the Malaysian Rubber Board, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) slid by 11.0 sen to 857.00 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk was down by 2.5 sen to 720.5 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, the price of SMR 20 stood at 854.50 sen per kg, while latex in bulk was at 715.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA