Rubber climbs to three-month high on optimism demand to rise

ERJ staff report (TP)

Bangkok − Rubber advanced to a three-month high on optimism that demand will improve and as oil climbed, increasing the appeal of the commodity used to make tires, reported Supunnabul Suwannakij for Bloomberg.

The contract for delivery in May on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose as much as 1.5 percent to 287.9 yen a kg (€2.03), the highest level for a most-active contract since 9 September. Futures traded at 285.8 yen (€2.01) at 11:28 am (Japan time, 16 December) paring losses to 5.5 percent this year.

Reports today (16 December) may signal growth in factory output for the euro region and the US, according to Bloomberg surveys, after Japan’s Tankan index beat estimates, indicating confidence among large manufacturers was the highest since 2007.

“Rubber climbed on expectations that demand will improve and the Chinese government will continue to build up stockpiles,” Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co., said.

Japan’s new vehicle tire sales gained 9.7 percent on year in November to 4m units, after rising 10 percent a month earlier, according to Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association in Tokyo.

The contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed at 19,890 yuan (€2,378) a tonne. Thai rubber free-on-board added 0.6 percent to 83.45 baht (€1.89) a kg on 13 December, the highest since September, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand

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Full story from Bloomberg