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Malaysia rubber closes lower with buyers scarce

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian rubber prices closed lower on Friday, extending their fall amid weak demand, traders said.

A rebound on the Tokyo market failed to lift prices.

Tokyo rubber futures closed mostly higher on Friday on short covering ahead of the weekend after a recent round of technical selling.

"The market remains weak as there are no buyers," said a trader.

The Malaysian Rubber Board quoted April buyers at 276.5 Malaysian cents (73 US cents) a kg, down two cents from on Thursday. For the week it was down 13.5 cents.

Tyre-grade closed at 269.5 cents (71 US cents) a kg, down one cent from on Thursday and 10 cents from a week ago.

Traders expected the market to remain soft in the near term.

They said buyers had mostly covered nearby positions ahead of the start of wintering last month, and were likely to stay out of the market for the time being.-Reuters