Rubber Market Ends Higher, Tracking Gains In Shanghai Rubber Futures

By Muhammad Fawwaz Thaqif Nor Afandi

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended higher on Thursday, supported by gains in the Shanghai rubber futures market following encouraging Chinese economic data, a dealer said.

She said that Shanghai rubber futures gained on Thursday, tracking firmer crude oil prices and encouraging Chinese economic data.

At the time of writing, Brent crude rose 1.77 per cent to US$95.96 per barrel.

“The National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's industrial firms saw profits climb 24.7 per cent in April compared with a year earlier and up from a 15.8 per cent gain in March,” she told Bernama.

The dealer said market sentiment was further lifted by positive developments in the European automotive sector and by optimism following European Union (EU) governments’ approval of legislation related to the United States (US) trade deal.

She said that the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reported that new vehicle registrations reached 1.15 million units.

“European car sales increased for the third consecutive month in April, rising seven per cent year-on-year, driven by strong demand for electric and hybrid vehicles,” she said.

The trader said EU governments cleared legislation to remove import duties on many US goods, a move that should avert US President Donald Trump’s threat of higher tariffs on EU cars and other products.

However, further gains were capped by renewed hostilities in West Asia and concerns over the inflationary impact of a prolonged conflict ahead of the release of key US inflation data.

“The US and Iran traded air strikes on Thursday, marking a resumption in open hostilities, dampening expectations for a peace deal,” she added.

At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 rose 15.5 sen to 898 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was up by 0.5 sen to 785.5 sen per kg. 

-- BERNAMA