Rubber Market Rebounds On Firmer Regional Futures, Crude Oil Prices

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market rebounds to end higher on Tuesday, supported by gains in regional rubber futures, firmer crude oil prices and encouraging global manufacturing data, said a dealer.

The dealer said global manufacturing data, particularly from the United States, reinforced expectations of stronger industrial activity and natural rubber demand.

She said crude oil prices rebounded amid renewed concerns over supply disruptions linked to the US-Iran conflict in West Asia, supporting market sentiment.

“Market sentiment was also supported by optimism over renewed US-Iran negotiations, which raised hopes of easing geopolitical tensions,” she told Bernama.

At the time of writing, Brent crude was up 2.78 per cent at US$86.10 a barrel.

However, she said gains were capped by rising seasonal natural rubber supply in Southeast Asia, elevated vehicle inventories in China, persistent weakness in tyre demand and lingering uncertainty over the US interest rate outlook.

At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose by 17 sen to 896 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk remained unchanged at 694.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA