Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian rubber market continued to close lower on Wednesday, dragged by huge losses in regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said. She noted that market sentiment was also weighed down by the sharp decline in oil prices sparked by fears of the escalating global trade war.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Brent crude oil prices dropped 3.55 per cent to US$60.66 per barrel at the time of writing. Despite the downturn, further losses were capped by optimism about more stimulus from China and natural rubber (NR) supply disruptions from major NR-producing countries due to the prevailing wintering season.

The dealer also mentioned that Japanese rubber futures tumbled to a more than one-year low on Wednesday. This drop was attributed to the looming 104 per cent US tariff on imports from China, which escalated the global trade war and sparked fears of an economic slowdown.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) 20 price fell by 32.5 sen to 738.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk was down by 7.0 sen to 655.5 sen per kg.