RUBBER MARKET LIKELY TO TRADE RANGE-BOUND NEXT WEEK

By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The rubber market is expected to trade range-bound with a downward bias next week, according to industry expert Denis Low.

He said that the lack of ships sailing is becoming an issue, exacerbated by the ongoing Red Sea crisis and global uncertainties which have led to extremely high shipping rates, putting a damper on the rubber market.

“There will be sporadic buying and replenishment of stocks based on current usage, and this may help to stabilise the prices and hold it steady,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association said overall, rubber prices in Malaysia and Thailand were on a downward trend during the week just ended, reflecting the movements in the regional rubber futures markets.

The association noted that the decrease in China's demand for natural rubber, coupled with the continuous decline in oil prices has contributed to the softening of the rubber market.

A dealer said the rubber prices will continue to track the performance of regional rubber futures markets, the ringgit's strength against the US dollar, and benchmark crude oil prices amid Chinese demand concerns.

She said traders will look for further economic indicators from major economies amid hopes for more Chinese measures while monitoring developments surrounding the China-Europe tariff tensions and the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

The market had traded mostly lower throughout the week just ended, extending its downtrend due to weaker sentiment in the regional rubber futures markets and benchmark crude oil prices.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference price for SMR 20 decreased 31.5 sen to 797.5 sen per kilogramme (kg) from 829 sen per kg last week, while latex-in-bulk slid 21 sen to 772.5 sen per kg from 793.50 sen previously.

At 5 pm, the MRB reference price for physical SMR 20 stood at 796 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 767 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA