Rubber Market Extends Mixed Performance, Tracking Regional Futures

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian rubber market closed mixed again today, reflecting softer regional rubber futures and fluctuating crude oil prices, said a dealer.

He told Bernama that market sentiment improved due to positive developments in the global automotive industry, along with growing optimism regarding potential United States interest rate cuts.

However, gains were capped by weak Chinese economic data and as trade tensions between the US and China rose, said the dealer.

“Japanese rubber futures declined slightly against the pressure of a stronger yen despite robust demand from the Chinese auto sector.

“Oil prices were mixed on Thursday after Donald Trump said India has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia. However, India’s foreign ministry did not comment on Trump’s statement about India’s purchases of Russian oil,” said the dealer.

At 5.17 pm, Brent crude oil gained by 0.65 per cent to US$62.30 per barrel.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose eight sen to 747.50 per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was slightly down by 1.5 sen to 570 per kg.

-- BERNAMA