KUALA LUMPUR: The rubber market is likely to trade range-bound next week with sluggish demand and a slight increase in prices seen.
Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association past president Denis Low expects another quiet and slow week with restocking and replenishment as a possible catalyst to sustain demand and prices.
“Poorer output due to the rainfalls should boost prices while the threat of the monsoon may trigger some stocking activities,” he told Bernama.
He also noted that the rubber market is definitely in a speculative mood as it does not seem to be bothered by the bad weather condition leading up to the seasonal monsoon which may severely affect rubber output.
“It surprises many traders that instead of a stronger stocking demand pushing up prices to a certain extent, it is now muted with prices being stagnated.
“It is apparent that the global economy is still struggling with no clear social recovery agenda that is so important in getting back to normalcy,” he explained.
In the week just ended, the local rubber market was traded mixed, influenced by the performance of regional rubber futures and fluctuations in crude oil prices.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose 1.5 sen to close the week at 674.0 sen per kg versus 672.5 sen per kg a week earlier.
Meanwhile, latex-in-bulk fell 2.5 sen to close at 534.5 sen per kg from 537.0 sen per kg the previous week.
At 5 pm on Friday, the MRB reference price for physical rubber SMR 20 stood at 675.5 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 535.0 sen per kg.-Bernama
