KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) — The Malaysian rubber market is expected to remain strong next week, to move with an upside bias.
However, uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact might cause some volatility in the market, especially on whether businesses and industries should resume operations world-wide, said Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association’s (MARGMA) immediate past president Denis Low.
“The bigger issue is the weather condition. It is getting worrisome as there seems to be extraneous rainfall this year, and it is predicted that the weather condition will persist until next year,” he said to Bernama.
Hence, the uncertainties require stockists and users to play a cautious hand by accumulating stocks, in case of a ‘rainy day’ ahead, he said.
“It is also understood that not many industries are holding stocks currently,” added Low.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, SMR 20 rose 17 sen to 635.50 per kg, while latex-in-bulk was down four sen to 583.00 per kg.
At 5 pm on Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s reference physical price for SMR 20 stood at 633.00 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 585.00 sen a kg.