The Malaysian rubber market closed lower today as the benchmark Tokyo rubber futures slipped after metal and oil prices fell overnight, dealers said.
This is also ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting and anticipation of news on its future stimulus plans.
The Fed meets this week amid intense speculation over its massive
bond-buying campaign, but most economists do not expect it to scale back on purchases from the current US$85 billion monthly pace, a dealer said.
On the local front, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR20 fell 6.0 sen to 719.5 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk slipped 2.5 sen to 544.0 sen per kg.
The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR20 decreased five sen to 721.0 sen per kg, but latex-in-bulk went up 3.5 sen to 546 sen per kg.– Bernama