KUALA LUMPUR (March 07): The Malaysian rubber market closed higher today, on positive sentiment arising from an International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) report, which predicted that global rubber demand will increase 4.4 per cent this year, a dealer said.
He said that global rubber demand was expected to come mainly from India.
“It is estimated that India’s rubber demand will grow 8.5 per cent to 1.56 million tonnes this year, as its homegrown rubber output was hit by heavy rains between June and September 2013,” the dealer said.
At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR20, gained five sen to 627.5 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk was 2.5 higher at 484.50 sen a kg.
The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR20 was five sen lower, at 617.5 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk increased 2.5 sen to 485 sen a kg.
