KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market is expected to track the regional rubber futures market this week as worries over economic weakness lingered, a dealer said.
He told Bernama that market players are expected to closely monitor the outcome of the upcoming major central bank meetings especially the US Federal Reserve along with China’s economic data for further direction.
The rubber market turned slightly higher on a weekly basis as sentiment was lifted by China’s plan to support auto exports and the weaker ringgit against the US dollar amid mixed advice from the regional rubber futures market.
Nevertheless, he said further gains were limited by weaker global economic data and losses in oil prices.
Oil prices are set for their second weekly drop as disappointing economic data from the US and uncertainty on further interest rate hikes raise concerns about future fuel demand, he added.
On a weekly basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference physical price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose by 2.50 sen, or 0.42 per cent, to 601.50 sen from 599 sen a kilogramme (kg) registered Thursday the previous week.
However, latex-in-bulk fell 6.0 sen to 483 sen a kg from 489 sen previously.
At 5 pm on Friday, the MRB reference price for SMR 20 stood at 598 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk was 482 sen a kg. – BERNAMA
