Kuala lumpur: The Malaysian rubber market closed lower on Monday, influenced by a mixed trend in regional rubber futures, a dealer said. The market sentiment was further dampened by weaker crude oil prices, though losses were partly mitigated by signs of stronger Chinese economic activity.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Japanese rubber futures fell on Monday, affected by weakness in the Shanghai market and a stronger yen. Additionally, declines in Tokyo equities and oil prices contributed to the downward pressure on prices. The dealer highlighted that China’s industrial profits showed a significant increase, rising 20.4 percent in August from a year earlier, which reversed a 1.5 percent fall in July. For the January-August period, profits were up 0.9 percent compared with a 1.7 percent decline in the January-July period.

At 3 pm, the Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) decreased by 5.5 sen to 737.50 sen per kilogram, while latex-in-bulk decreased by two sen to 580.00 sen per kilogram.