Rubber Market Extends Gains On Upbeat Regional Futures

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market extended gains on Tuesday, closing higher on firmer regional rubber futures and continued supply tightness due to El Nino, a dealer said.

The dealer said sentiment was also supported by encouraging economic policy signals from China and signs of continued expansion in the country’s electric vehicle (EV) sector.

“Nevertheless, further gains were capped by the strengthening ringgit against the US dollar and rising expectations of a United States (US) interest rate hike amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia,” she told Bernama.

She said China’s central bank governor had reaffirmed his commitment to further opening up the country’s financial markets to two-way investment flows during a meeting with foreign financial institutions.

“In addition, Chinese EV maker BYD is recruiting more than 8,000 workers across several plants and business units at its manufacturing base in Xi’an, northwestern China,” she added.

At 3 pm, Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose 9.5 sen to 992 sen per kilogramme (kg), while bulk latex increased 2.5 sen to 720.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA