KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) — The Malaysian rubber market closed higher on renewed interest for the commodity, coupled with the rise in crude oil prices, a dealer said.
At 5 pm, the Brent crude oil was quoted at US$35 per barrel, after hovering around historical lows a fortnight ago.
He said a slight rebound was also apparent in regional rubber futures market, however, gains were capped by the stronger ringgit against the dollar.
The regional rubber futures also reacted positively to news that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to implement the Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme, effective March 1, 2016 aimed at shoring up flagging natural rubber prices.
The International Tripartite Rubber Council said under the scheme, the three countries which account for 67 per cent of the world’s rubber output, will withdraw exports of 615,000 tonnes of natural rubber for six months from March 1 to August 31, 2016.
At the close, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for SMR 20 added 19 sen to 454.5 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk decreased 0.5 sen to 363.5 sen a kg.
The 5 pm unofficial closing price for SMR 20 was 2.5 sen lower at 452 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk declined two sen to 362.5 sen a kg.
— BERNAMA
