KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian rubber market is likely to be volatile next week in the absence of fresh market moving factors.
“The fundamentals, however, remain intact,” said a dealer, adding tyre-grade SMR 20 is expected to hover around 850 sen per kg.
For the week just ended, the market traded mostly lower on a lack of leads.
Meanwhile, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) expects members to increase natural rubber production by 4.2 per cent in 2017.
Secretary-General Dr Nguyen Ngoc Bich said while supply was anticipated to rise in most countries this year, it would fall marginally in Indonesia.
“While the demand-supply fundamental is likely to stay favourable during March to May 2017, prices can swing on either side in response to developments in the crude oil sector, currencies and the flow of speculative funds,” he said.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s noon price for SMR 20 dipped 41 sen to 884 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk fell 15 sen to 759.5 sen per kg.