Rubber Market Eases Amid US-China Trade Tension

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market eased today as the global market sentiment was dampened by renewed fears over US-China trade tensions, said a dealer.

However, further losses were capped by a recovery in oil prices amid a weaker ringgit against the US dollar and encouraging Chinese economic data, especially car sales.

The dealer said US President Donald Trump had announced plans to impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports, in response to China curbing its critical mineral exports. “Trump also plans to impose new export controls on certain US-made software deemed critical to national security,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), China’s car sales accelerated in September by 6.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 2.27 million units. “Dealers and consumers took advantage of trade-in subsidies before more local governments suspended the incentives,” the dealer said.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) eased by 7.5 sen to 732 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was 1.5 sen lower at 572.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA