Kuala Lumpur Rubber Market Ends Mixed

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended mixed onWednesday amid gains in regional markets, with uncertainty over the United States-Iranwar weighing on sentiment, a dealer said.

She said Japanese rubber futures rose, supported by gains in butadiene rubber, a type ofsynthetic rubber.

“Meanwhile, Thailand's Meteorological Department warned of severe rains and flashfloods from Aug 18-21, raising concerns over potential disruptions to rubber tapping andsupply,” she told Bernama.

She said the rubber market was also supported by a weaker ringgit against the USdollar as well as firmer crude oil prices.

However, she added that gains were capped by weaker US economic data, which raisedconcerns over the pace of global industrial activity, as well as continued uncertainty overthe US-Iran war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased by 14 sen to928.5 sen per kilogramme (kg) while latex in bulk slipped by 1.5 sen to 684.0 sen per kg.