THE Malaysian rubber market ended the week higher today, as mixed advice from regional rubber futures markets was offset by the rebound in crude oil prices, a dealer said.
Oil prices gained further ground today as some producers like Kuwait also agreed to cut output swiftly to counter the slump in global demand for fuels caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.
The dealer said the positive sentiment was further supported by the US’ move to add more measures to contain the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak which had hit demand for commodities.
“Market players also took the cue from stimulus measures by China to increase liquidity and support their economy,” she told Bernama.
She said that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) had reportedly lowered the one-year interest rate on the targeted medium-term tending facility (TMLF) by 20 basis points to 2.95% today, while also injecting 56.1 billion yuan (US$7.93 bil) into the economy.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a US$484 bil Covid-19 relief bill yesterday, funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the total spending response to an unprecedented near US$3 trillion, she added.
At 12pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference price for tyre-grade SMR 20 added six sen to 478.0 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk gained four sen to 419.0 sen a kg.
At 5pm, the MRB’s reference price for tyre-grade SMR 20 improved two sen to 475.0 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk was unchanged at 417.0 sen a kg. – April 24, 2020, Bernama
