Rubber Market Ends Lower, Tracking Decline In Regional Futures

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market closed lower on Friday, tracking the downward movement in regional rubber futures markets, said a dealer.

The dealer said that market sentiment was also dampened by the cautious mood among traders as they awaited the key United States (US) inflation index, due later in the day, for further clues on the US interest rate outlook.

“Nevertheless, further losses were capped by ongoing concerns over a natural rubber supply shortage due to rainy weather in producing countries,” he told Bernama.

The dealer added that Japanese rubber futures dipped on Friday and were set to end the week lower amid expanding supply and seasonally declining demand.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 fell by 9.5 sen to 743.50 sen per kilogramme (kg) while latex in bulk inched down by 3.0 sen to 569.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA