KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian rubber market closed higher today supported by strong performance in regional futures markets after the United State Federal Reserve revealed plans to continue its asset purchase programme and on optimism over a US Covid-19 relief package.
A dealer said the uptrend will also be supported by gains in crude oil prices.
“However, worries about the continued surge in global Covid-19 cases and lockdown measures weighed on the markets,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said it will keep buying at least $120 billion (RM484.14 billion) of debt per month until substantial further progress has been made in the recovery, to strengthen its support for the US economy amid surging Covid-19 infections.
“The guidance from the Federal Open Market Committee came at the end of a two-day meeting, during which officials upgraded their economic projections but still predicted that they would keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of 2023,” the dealer added.
Oil prices hit a nine-month high early today after US government data showed that crude stockpiles fell last week.
At the time of writing, the benchmark Brent crude was up 1.17% to $51.68 (RM208.50) per barrel.
The Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference physical price for SMR 20 surged 14.5 sen to 631.50 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk increased five sen to 581.00 sen per kg.
At 5pm, the MRB’s closing price for SMR 20 stood at 630.50 sen per kg while latex-in-bulk was at 582.00 sen per kg. – Bernama, December 17, 2020
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