KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian rubber market is expected to be on a downtrend this week, tracking the anticipated decline on the benchmark Tokyo rubber futures.
A dealer said the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which sets the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, had been slowly recovering since late March.
“However, in the medium-and long-term, we expect the commodity to remain weak due to high inventories,” he added.
On a Friday-to-Tuesday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s noon price for tyre-grade SMR 20 increased 0.5 sen to 559 sen per kg from 558.50 sen per kg last week, while latex-in-bulk eased 4.5 sen to 485.5 sen per kg from 490 sen per kg.
The 5 pm unofficial closing price for SMR 20 added five sen to 562.5 sen a kg from 557.50 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk decreased 8.5 sen to 485.5 sen a kg from 494.00 sen a kg.
The Kuala Lumpur Rubber Market was closed on May 9 for the 14th General Election, as well as, on May 10-11 to observe special public holidays in conjunction with the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s victory.
