RUBBER MARKET CLOSES LOWER AMID MIXED OIL PRICES, STRONGER RINGGIT

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed lower on Thursday, amid mixed crude oil prices, reflecting a stronger ringgit and weaker performances in regional rubber futures markets, a trader said.

She said oil prices were mixed, with investors balancing concerns about potential supply disruptions amid escalating United States-Iran tensions against expectations of higher demand from a resilient US economy.

“The ringgit strengthens against the US dollar despite resilient US economic data due to the succession uncertainty around the US Federal Reserve and broader US policy risks,” she said.

At the morning session, the local currency strengthened to 3.9100/9230 versus the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 3.9110/9170.

She added that market sentiment was weighed down by tempered expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts, as participants digested the release of rubber statistics by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

“However, further declines were limited by concerns over reduced production in major natural rubber-producing countries and optimism regarding China’s policies aimed at promoting fair competition in the automobile industry,” she said.

At 3 pm, the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 decreased nine sen to 764.50 sen per kilogramme, while latex-in-bulk reduced two sen to 579.5 sen per kilogramme.

-- BERNAMA