By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) — The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended lower today influenced by the downtrend in the regional rubber futures markets as traders respond to the minutes of the United States (US) Federal Reserve meeting, a dealer said.
She said Fed officials were divided on whether to cut interest rates by half a point in September as markets grew more confident about a patient approach from the Federal Reserve to further ease monetary policy, even as a key inflation report loomed later in the day.
Global sentiment was also dented by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, she said.
“Nonetheless, further losses were capped by the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar, gains in crude oil prices, and tight natural rubber (NR) supply concerns due to weather forecasts,” she told Bernama.
According to the dealer, Japanese rubber futures lost ground on Thursday, as improving wet weather conditions in global producing regions eased supply pressures, although a weaker yen limited the downside in prices.
She said oil prices rose in Asian trade on Thursday, steadying from two days of steep losses as focus remained on the Middle East conflict and more stimulus measures in China.
According to the Statistics Department Malaysia (DoSM) today, Malaysia’s NR production fell by 5.2 per cent to 35,979 tonnes in August 2024 against 37,960 tonnes a month ago.
Year-on-year, DoSM said NR production rose by 14.9 per cent from 31,309 tonnes in August 2023.
The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) went down by 4.5 sen to 878.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk decreased by 0.50 sen to 749.5 sen per kg.
At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 864 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk reached 748.5 sen per kg.
— BERNAMA
