Rubber Market Ends Lower On Mixed Regional Futures, Stronger Ringgit

By K. Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market finished lower today, dragged down by the mixed trend in the regional rubber futures market and a stronger ringgit against the US dollar, a dealer said. 

She said market sentiment was also weighed down by the latest US economic data. 

“The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that US manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.0 in July from 49.0 in June amid tariffs that have raised prices of imported raw materials,” she told Bernama.

She also said the US Labour Department's closely watched employment report showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent last month, following a decline in household employment.

Nevertheless, she said further losses were capped by gains in crude oil prices.

“Oil prices edged higher, paring earlier losses, as traders expect the market to absorb another large output hike by OPEC+ in September, while worries about disruptions to Russian oil shipments to major importer India also provided support,” she said. 

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) declined by six sen to 709 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk declined by two sen to 565 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA