Kuala Lumpur Rubber Market Ends Mixed Amid Firmer Regional Rubber Futures
By Fatin Umairah Abdul Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market continued to end mixed on Thursday, supported by gains in regional rubber futures, firmer crude oil prices and positive economic indicators, said a dealer.
The positive economic indicators included a continued expansion in the US services sector, the dealer said.
“Nevertheless, gains were constrained by weaker demand prospects from China's automotive and tyre industries, with lower passenger vehicle and new energy vehicle sales in July reflecting softer natural rubber consumption,” she told Bernama.
She said China's tyre and automotive sectors remained weak, with all-steel tyre utilisation falling to 63.8 per cent (-1.62 percentage points), NEV retail sales declining two per cent, and total passenger vehicle sales dropping 18 per cent year-on-year.
At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose by 7.5 sen to 904.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk declined by half a sen to 690.5 sen per kg.
-- BERNAMA