KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian rubber market ended higher on the first trading day of 2023, tracking gains in Shanghai rubber futures as market sentiment was boosted by China's economic reopening and anticipation for a slower United States (US) interest rates hike, a dealer said.

He said market operators were keeping an eye on the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's December meeting for more cues on US monetary policy.

"Market participants awaited the minutes of the Fed's December policymaking meeting, which are due to be released on Wednesday, with traders looking for clues to what rate path is likely to be taken in 2023," he said.

He said the Japanese Rubber market is closed today for market holiday.

Meanwhile, he said China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) official purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 47.0 in December, contracting at the sharpest pace since the pandemic first emerged nearly three years ago after Beijing's abrupt reversal of counter-epidemic measures this month set off a wave of COVID infections across the country.

The Malaysian Rubber Board's (MRB) price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) rose 19 sen to 580.5 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk was up by two sen at 472.5 sen a kg.

At 5 pm, MRB's closing price for SMR 20 stood at 576.5 sen a kg while latex-in-bulk was 472 sen a kg.

- BERNAMA