KL Rubber Market Closes Higher, Tracking Steady Crude Oil

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended higher today, supported by steady benchmark crude oil prices and the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar, said a dealer.

She said the optimism over China’s potential stimulus measures lifted the market while prevailing wet weather in major natural rubber-producing regions provided additional support to prices.

“China’s top financial market regulator said on Saturday that ‘stabilising the market, stabilising confidence and stabilising expectations’ were priorities as the government worked to provide better access to capital for leading technology.

“However, gains were capped by quiet trading in regional rubber futures markets due to the long Chinese New Year holiday and the latest United States trade tariff announcement,” she told Bernama.

She said the Japanese rubber futures traded in a narrow range on Monday as investors weighed supply snags and a softer yen against fears of a global trade war after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada.

The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) reported that at 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) was up by 20 sen to 904 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk increased by 8.5 sen to 685.5 sen per kg. 

-- BERNAMA