Malaysian rubber mart to remain stable

Prices on the Malaysian rubber market are likely to hover at the current level next week, despite concerns of a slowdown in demand from China, said an analyst.

An MIDF Research analyst said although demand from China is not expected to pick up, rubber price will remain stable.

"The current price level is good for rubber glove companies," he said.

For the week just-ended, the local rubber market kicked off on a positive note on Monday, registering gains as more traders returned from the Chinese New Year holiday break.

However, rubber prices were on a downtrend the rest of the week following the Thai government's announcement to terminate its rubber buying scheme end-March with prices having rebounded to acceptable levels.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board's official physical price for tyre-grade SMR20 ended 36.5 sen lower at 905.5 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk eased 6.5 sen to 615.5 sen.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR20 lost 33.5 sen to 908.5 sen a kg, while latex-in-bulk shed 5.5 sen to 615.5 sen a kg. -- BERNAMA