By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed on Friday, taking its cue from the mixed regional rubber futures markets, a dealer said.

She said the market sentiment was supported by gains in crude oil prices, the United States (US) economic resilience, and persistent concerns regarding the global natural rubber (NR) supply shortages.

The US manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered a minor rise at 47.8, while its services PMI, a critical indicator of the health of the US service sector, showed a slight increase at 55.3. 

"Nonetheless, further gains were capped by China’s mixed economic performance and a slightly stronger ringgit against the US dollar, coupled with the escalating conflict in the Middle East," she told Bernama. 

According to the dealer, oil prices edged higher on Friday, and are on track for a weekly gain of more than one per cent as tensions in the Middle East, the world's top oil-producing region, and the resumption of the Gaza ceasefire talks in the coming days kept traders on edge.

Meanwhile, she said Japanese rubber futures fell for the third consecutive session on Friday and were poised for a weekly loss, as supply concerns eased on prospects of better weather conditions in top producer Thailand.

The Malaysian Rubber Board reported that the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased by 0.5 sen to 862.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk decreased by 1.0 sen to 750 sen per kg.

At 5 pm, SMR 20 stood at 855.0 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk was at 746.5 sen per kg.

-- BERNAMA