Rubber prices close higher

Malaysian rubber prices closed higher on Wednesday in line with the uptrend in rubber prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), dealers said.

A dealer said rubber prices gained support after China set its gross domestic product target at 7.5 per cent for this year, raising hopes for more buying interest for the commodity.

At noon, the Malaysian Rubber Board's official physical price for tyre-grade SMR20 rose 1.5 sen to 888 sen per kg but latex-in-bulk was unchanged at 618 sen per kg.

The unofficial closing price for tyre-grade SMR20 earned half-a-sen to 888.5 sen per kg and latex-in-bulk rose half-a-sen to 618.5 sen per kg.-- Bernama