Kuala lumpur: The rubber market is expected to trade range-bound next week with a bias towards higher prices, influenced by the northeast monsoon and escalating tension between the European Union (EU) and Russia, said industry expert Denis Low. He noted that the prolonged European conflict will raise uncertainties for businesses and potentially affect commodity prices and demand, while the northeast monsoon is going to impact rubber production.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Low highlighted that the northeast monsoon has brought heavy and continuous rains over major rubber-producing regions. He noted that these two strong diverging factors could balance each other out in the supply and demand dynamics of the rubber market, resulting in volatility. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has also warned about colder temperatures in the upper regions, heavy rain in the south, and strong winds over the Gulf of Thailand. They have issued advisories for public health during the monsoon season and urged the farming community to take crop-protection measures during the cold weather and gusty winds.

Another dealer mentioned that rubber prices are expected to be influenced by movements in regional rubber futures markets, the performance of the ringgit against the US dollar, and fluctuations in benchmark crude oil prices, amid concerns over natural rubber supply due to weather uncertainties. Traders will also closely monitor US-China trade relations, updates in the semiconductor chips industry, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and key US and China economic indicators.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board's reference price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose by 0.83 per cent, or six sen, to 730.5 sen per kilogramme, while latex-in-bulk increased 1.58 per cent, or by 9.0 sen to 577 sen per kg.