Rubber Market Ends Lower On Weaker Regional Futures

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended lower on Monday, weighed down by regional rubber futures.

A dealer said Japanese rubber futures declined as natural rubber production increased in major producing countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, following the wintering season.

“The market sentiment was also dented by the fragile interim peace deal in West Asia and weakness in global automobile demand. Toyota Motor said on Monday that global vehicle sales slipped for a fourth consecutive month in May by 7.2 per cent, as decreases in China and the Middle East weighed on overall results,” she told Bernama.

Nevertheless, she reckoned that further losses were capped by gains in crude oil prices and the resilient Chinese economic performance.

At the time of writing, Brent crude increased 0.90 per cent to US$72.61 per barrel.

At 3 pm today, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) fell 21.5 sen to 859 sen per kilogramme (kg) while latex-in-bulk was down by ten sen to 759.50 sen per kg. 

-- BERNAMA