KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — The Kuala Lumpur rubber market is expected to remain range-bound with a slightly lower bias next week, as supply and demand remain largely in equilibrium amid volatile crude oil prices and uncertainty arising from geopolitical tensions.
Industry expert Denis Low said the prolonged conflict in West Asia continued to disrupt commerce and industry and create uncertainty, while the recent attacks pushed crude oil prices up about four per cent to hover around US$94.20 per barrel.
“The higher oil prices are sending prices and costs spiralling up again,” he told Bernama.
Low said the market should also remain cautious over volatility in crude oil prices and the US dollar, which could affect rubber prices and demand.
“Such acute volatility represents uncertainties and may warrant caution and fear at the same time,” he said.
On the supply side, Low said sporadic thunderstorms and heavy rains have affected certain rubber-producing regions, although conditions have not been severe enough to significantly disrupt rubber supply.
“In fact, more regions are having good weather conditions, causing more supply to hit the market. Thus, we shall have to monitor this climate change pattern from time to time to cope with it better,” he added.
Low said that the Thai Meteorological Department forecast isolated heavy rain across Thailand, while hazy weather was expected in Malaysia until next week.
Against this backdrop, Low expects the rubber market to take its cue from last week’s range-bound trend, with prices, supply and demand remaining in equilibrium but with a tendency to be slightly lower.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) fell 5.0 sen to 958.5 sen per kilogramme, while latex in bulk gained 2.5 sen to 690.5 sen per kilogramme.
