Rubber Market Ends Mixed Amid Stronger Ringgit

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended mixed on Tuesday, influenced by downtrends in regional rubber futures, declining crude oil prices, and a slightly stronger ringgit against the US dollar, said a dealer.

At the opening this morning, the ringgit surged to the 4.08 level against the US dollar, marking its strongest performance in nearly five years.

Meanwhile, at the time of writing, the Brent crude oil price eased 1.07 per cent to US$59.91 per barrel.

The dealer said sentiment was also dampened as traders remained cautious ahead of key United States economic data. 

“Nevertheless, further losses were limited by encouraging Chinese auto sales and Beijing's announcement of a new stimulus package to support the economy,” he told Bernama.

At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 fell by 2.0 sen to 723.50 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk remained unchanged at 576.50 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA