Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian rubber market ended higher on Friday, supported by positive performance in China's economy coupled with gains in crude oil prices, a dealer said.
She said oil prices rebounded about one per cent after a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia calmed markets amid strong China demand expectations following a banking crisis that sparked a sell-off in global financial and oil markets this week.
"Nevertheless, further gains were limited by a stronger ringgit against the US dollar and mixed performance in regional rubber futures markets amid worries over the banking crisis in the United States (US)," she told Bernama.
Moreover, the dealer said market players are keeping an eye on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week with anticipation the central bank could slow down its aggressive interest rate hikes to ease the stress on the financial system.
Meanwhile, the Japanese rubber futures rose for the first time in 11 days today as the government sought to bolster investor confidence amid global monetary tightening policies and banking turmoil.
The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose 7.0 sen to 578 sen a kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk fell 1.5 sen to 522 sen a kg.
At 5 pm, the MRB closing price for SMR 20 stood at 576.5 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 519 sen a kg.
– BERNAMA
