KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian rubber market is expected to trade mixed this week buoyed by the ringgit’s movement, crude oil prices as well as the performance of regional peers.
A local trader said the domestic currency, which is expected to be stable versus the US dollar next week, would mitigate the upside of the benchmark SMR 20 price.
The recovery in crude oil prices could also the price of SMR grades and latex-in-bulk positively.
“Local rubber prices are likely to track the movements on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and Shanghai Futures Exchange while concerns over the El Nino phenomena would also aid the commodity’s better price,” told Bernama.
For the week just-ended, steady crude oil prices and a broader recovery in regional rubber futures markets supported the commodity’s uptrend.
SMR 20 price hit a seven-month high on Monday when Brent climbed above the US$39 per barrel level for the first time this year.
“The SMR 20 is likely to trade within a range of between 490 and 510 sen per kg next week amid a mixed risk sentiment and latex-in-bulk at between 390 sen and 410 sen a kg,” another dealer added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s sellers’ official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 fell 16 sen to 512.5 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk added 10.5 sen to 388.5 sen per kg.
The unofficial sellers’ closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 slipped 48 sen to 500 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk improved 14 sen to 400 sen per kg.
