Kuala lumpur: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed higher today, tracking firmer crude oil prices, a dealer said. He noted that oil prices climbed due to supply disruptions linked to escalating United States-Venezuela tensions, which outweighed oversupply worries and the impact of a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal. At the time of writing, the Brent crude oil price inched up 0.34 percent to US$61.33 per barrel.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, market sentiment was further supported by increased confidence in additional Chinese stimulus in 2026. Amid the latest weak economic data, calls have intensified for stronger growth drivers and additional stimulus in China, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged faster reforms and decisive action in the property sector.

Nevertheless, further gains were capped by weak Chinese economic data amid mixed signals from regional rubber futures markets. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's industrial output in November rose 4.8 percent year-on-year, slowing from the 4.9 percent growth in October, while retail sales growth slowed to 1.3 percent.

At 3 pm, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 rose by 1.5 sen to 725.50 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk increased by 1.0 sen to 576.50 sen per kg.