Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian rubber market ended lower today, in tandem with the downtrend in regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said. He said the market was also dragged down by the fall in crude oil prices.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, oil prices declined sharply to their lowest in more than a week as United States President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, alleviating worries of supply disruptions in the Middle East. At the time of writing, Brent crude oil prices declined 2.53 percent to US$69.67 per barrel.

The dealer noted that further losses in the rubber market were capped by concerns over dwindling natural rubber raw material supply due to adverse weather conditions in major producer Thailand. Flash floods in Thailand ended a second consecutive decline in Japanese rubber futures, according to broker Hexun Futures. Thailand’s meteorological agency has issued warnings of heavy rainfall and accumulation that could lead to flash flooding from June 23-27.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) dipped by 6.5 sen to 693.50 sen per kilogramme, while latex in bulk declined by 1.5 sen to 587.00 sen per kg.