KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian rubber market is likely to remain cautious next week, tracking the ringgit’s movements against the US dollar and global crude oil prices, a dealer said.
He said oil prices continue to rise since Saudi Arabia has suspended crude shipments through a strategic Red Sea shipping lane after an attack on two big oil tankers on Wednesday morning.
“The prices would also move in tandem with the prices of other commodities, as well as regional futures markets like the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and Shanghai Futures Exchange,” he said.
Meanwhile, market players have reacted positively to news on Thailand’s plan to cut down rubber trees.
The Rubber Authority of Thailand reportedly said it plans to reduce rubber hectarage by 32,000 hectares per year for five years, totalling 160,000 hectares, starting this September to reduce supply in order to stimulate the market.
For the week just ended, rubber prices were mostly higher, taking the cue from the mixed performance of regional markets, as well as crude oil price movements.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s noon price for tyre-grade SMR 20 dropped six sen to 529.5 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk rose one sen to 417.0 sen a kg.
The 5 pm unofficial closing price for SMR 20 decreased three sen to 534.0 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk lost 4.5 sen to 411.5 sen a kg.
