KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market continued its upward trend to close higher today. A dealer said the local rubber market was boosted by a rally in the regional rubber futures markets led by an uptick in Shanghai rubber futures. He said prices were also supported by steady benchmark crude oil prices, a weaker ringgit against the US dollar, and a tightening of natural rubber (NR) supply due to massive floods in major producing countries. ‘Nonetheless, further gains were capped by mixed economic data from the United States,’ he told Bernama.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the dealer said Japanese rubber futures rose on Tuesday, ending a three-session decline, as concerns of wet weather disrupting supply from top producer Thailand outweighed shaky demand prospects. Meanwhile, he said oil prices were steady on Tuesday, with traders awaiting the outcome of an OPEC+ meeting this week.

The dealer highlighted that the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) reported prolonged massive floods that hit five
provinces in the South last week would have caused damage to more than five million hectares of rubber plantations, amounting to an estimated 20 billion baht. The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose by 10.0 sen at 902.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was up by 2.50 sen to 675.0 sen per kg. At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 915.0 sen per kg, and latex-in-bulk was at 675.0 sen per kg.