RUBBER

THE Malaysian rubber market closed mixed yesterday, tracking the regional rubber futures markets as concerns over the escalating trade tensions between the United States (US) and China weighed on markets throughout Asia.

A dealer said the rubber market was negatively impacted by losses in the commodities market as additional tariffs were imposed on products imported from China.

“Nevertheless, losses were capped by a weaker ringgit against the US dollar,” the dealer said.

At 12 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 was unchanged at 523 sen per kg and latex-in-bulk eased three sen to 405.5 sen per kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 added one sen to 521 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk slipped five sen to 405.5 sen per kg.