Rubber Market Seen Stable Next Week On Rising Oil Prices
By Siti Noor Afera Abu
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market is expected to remain stable next week, with a slight upward bias amid higher oil prices.
Industry expert Denis Low noted that crude oil prices touched US$108 per barrel on Thursday, with the sharp increase expected to have a significant impact on commerce and industries. He said commodity prices would remain volatile depending on supply and demand, but higher oil prices would inevitably push up costs.
“In the rubber scene, supply and demand are getting some jolts as more farmers as well as processors are switching to produce more dry rubber at the expense of bulk liquid latex. It seems that better price advantage is pushing this trend,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, a dealer said the rubber market traded higher, with Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) reaching a new 2026 high of 1,021.5 sen per kilogramme on Sept 9, its highest level since Feb 15, 2017.
He said the uptrend was supported by gains in regional rubber futures markets and firmer crude oil prices, while concerns over tightening natural rubber supply due to declining production in Indonesia, heavy rainfall in Thailand and the strengthening El Niño weather pattern further underpinned market sentiment.
“Stronger Chinese economic and automotive indicators, together with policies to support the automotive industry, also provided support,” he added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s reference price for SMR 20 rose 40 sen to 998.5 sen per kilogramme, while latex in bulk gained 22 sen to 712.5 sen per kilogramme.
-- BERNAMA