KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 22): The Malaysian rubber market closed mostly lower on Tuesday, tracking the tumbling prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), said a dealer.
He said the benchmark TOCOM rubber futures declined below the key psychological level of 200 yen to hit a new 4 1/2-year low, hurt by concerns over demand in top buyer China.
“The rising price of oil helped to boost rubber prices on TOCOM. However, concerns about weak demand in China encouraged investors to liquidate contracts to avoid losses,” the dealer said.
The Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 dropped 11 sen to 544 sen a kg at noon while latex-in-bulk was 6.5 sen lower at 456.5 sen a kg.
– Bernama
