RUBBER MARKET POSTS MODEST GAINS AS OIL PRICES IMPROVE

By Sharifah Pirdaus Syed Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market ended higher today, supported by gains in benchmark crude oil prices and a weakening ringgit against the US dollar.

Market operators are also reacting positively to the declining local natural rubber production in March, a dealer said.

Nevertheless, further gains were capped by the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and China’s lockdown as well as less encouraging China’s auto sales data, he said.

“Oil prices inched higher today, following a nine per cent drop over the previous two sessions, amid supply concerns as the European Union worked on gaining support for a ban on Russian oil and as major producers warned that they may struggle to fill the gap when demand improves,” he told Bernama.

He also shared that Malaysia's natural rubber production in March 2022 decreased marginally by 2.7 per cent to 28,030 tonnes from 28,817 tonnes in February and declined 22.3 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the dealer said China’s official data today revealed that the country's factory gate prices rose faster than expected in April, while the consumer price index climbed again due to COVID lockdowns which drove food and fuel costs higher.

On another note, he said China’s producer price index rose eight per cent from a year earlier compared to 8.3 per cent in March while passenger car sales fell 35.7 per cent in April.

The Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose four sen to 688 sen a kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was up by three sen to 670.5 sen a kg. 

At 5 pm, the MRB’s closing price for SMR 20 stood at 691.0 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 672.0 sen a kg. 

-- BERNAMA