RUBBER MARKET ENDS LOWER ON WEAKER REGIONAL FUTURES

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market closed lower on Friday, dragged down by weaker regional rubber futures markets and crude oil prices, a dealer said.

She told Bernama that market sentiment was dampened by expectations of increased supply from Southeast Asia, growing global uncertainties, namely the US-China trade tensions and potential disruptions in chip supply for automakers.

Further losses were capped as the International Monetary Fund upgraded the growth outlook for Asia.

“Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday and were poised for a weekly decline, pressured by expectations of increased supply from Southeast Asia and a stronger yen.

“Oil prices edged lower in early trade on Friday, heading for a weekly loss, with uncertainty over global energy supplies after United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet in Hungary to discuss ending the war in Ukraine,” said the dealer.

At 5.39 pm, Brent crude oil dipped by 1.03 per cent to US$60.47 per barrel.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) slipped 11 sen to 736.50 per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was slightly down by one sen to 569 per kg.

-- BERNAMA