The Malaysian rubber prices ended mostly higher today spurred by domestic buying interest, dealers said.
He said the outbreak of bird flu (H7N9) in China, which triggered the increase in demand for rubber gloves, has helped lift the market to buck the downtrend overseas.
Another dealer said the bullish local market was also due to the weakening of ringgit against the US dollar which kept the downside limited.
RHB Research said the H7N9 could improve sentiment towards the natural rubber players and Malaysian glove producers would be the prime beneficiaries of falling latex prices.
It said most rubber glove companies had experienced higher order enquiries, although most of these had yet to be translated into purchase orders.
Meanwhile, Hwang DBS Vickers Research said the H7N9 outbreak would probably not trigger demand for rubber gloves immediately.
“It would take three to six months before any visibility in volume growth can be seen,” it said in a note today.
The Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 fell two sen to 717.5 sen a kg at noon, while latex-in-bulk rose a sen to 568.5 sen a kg.
The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 rose eight sen to 720 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk improved three sen to 570 sen a kg.– Bernama
