By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) — The local rubber market is expected to trade at equilibrium with supply and demand dynamics off-setting each other as trading activities will be curtailed to a certain extent due to the coming Golden Week holidays in China, said industry expert Denis Low.
However, he said there would be sporadic buying and replenishment activities of stock based on current usage.
“Hence, we do not envisage any major surges in the supply and demand dynamics,” he told Bernama.
Low also noted that the prices should remain flattish mainly due to the easing of the rains in the rubber-producing regions.
“Traders need to be more cautious in their purchase as the US dollar moves in tandem with commodity prices.
“When the US dollars depreciate, commodity prices tend to rise. Such volatile possibilities are difficult to read as the respective big trading nations are unpredictable,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) said supply disruption of natural rubber (NR) would continue to be a concern next week due to adverse weather conditions in the rubber-producing nations, coupled with the performance of the regional rubber futures markets.
“It was reported that economists expect a global NR deficit of 1.2 million tonnes in 2024, and this condition is projected to widen further from middle January 2025 onwards, following the increased intensity of extreme weather in NR producing nations,” it said.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased by 5.50 sen to 848.50 sen per kilogramme (kg) from 843 sen per kg last week.
Meanwhile, latex-in-bulk rose by 18 sen to 708 sen per kg from 690 sen per kg previously.
At 5 pm, physical SMR 20 stood at 843.50 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 710 sen per kg.
— BERNAMA
