The Malaysian rubber market finished lower on Thursday, after its recent gains, in tandem with the negative regional sentiment, a dealer said.
The fall in both the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange was prompted by the cautious demand outlook for the commodity ahead of the release of Chinese manufacturing data.
“A report on the struggle by Chinese commodity firms to get trade loans as banks scrutinise their activities and held back credit following Beijing’s orders to rein in currency speculation also weighed down on sentiment,” dealers said.
At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 shed 12.5 sen to 747 sen a kg and latex-in-bulk lost two sen to 595 sen a kg.
Meanwhile, the unofficial sellers’ closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 fell 20.5 sen to 742 sen a kg and latex-in-bulk decreased five sen to 592.5 sen a kg.
The Malaysian rubber market will be closed tomorrow for the Wesak Day holiday and will resume trading on Monday.– Bernama
