NR markets mixed as China demand picks up

London – Natural rubber markets presented a mixed picture in the two weeks to 16 July, with futures traded on the Shanghai and SICOM exchanges gaining during the first half of the month.
 
On both exchanges, prices sharply increased between 2 and 6 July followed by sideways movements between 6 and 15 July, said a market intelligence report by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
 
ANRPC linked the sharp increase in rubber prices to the ‘better-than-expected’ US job data released on 2 July, including the addition of 850,000 non-farm jobs in June.
 
The positive economic indicator in the US, said the association, outpaced market expectations and reflected an easing of labour-supply constraints.
 
In addition, China’s overall imports increased 37% year-on-year to $230 billion (€195 billion) in June, while exports rose 32% to $281.4 billion during the month.
 
“The jump in the trade served as a strong signal to the markets that Chinese factories have come back to life by making bulk purchases and sales,” ANRPC added.
 
Furthermore, disruptions in supply of rubber gloves from Malaysian manufacturers, spiked demand from China-based suppliers, raising prices in Shanghai.
 
Covid-related movement restrictions in Malaysia’s Klang Valley Region and a slowdown in gloves manufacturing in the country led prices of latex rubber to tumble in the Kuala Lumpur exchange during the two-week period.
 
In Osaka, where RSS3 futures closely followed the Shanghai and SICOM markets, a stronger yen against the dollar and other Asian currencies led to a decline in trading and prices.
 
 
Shanghai SHFE ru2109:              Yuan12,705 (2 July) to Yuan13,570 (16 July) up 6.8%
Osaka RSS3 nearby month:        Yen218.2/kg to Yen214.9/kg–down 1.5%
Singapore SGX TSR20:                $157.1/100kg to $165.5/100kg– up 5.3%
Kottayam RSS4:                            $224.39/100kg to $227.15/100kg – up 1.2%
Kuala Lumpur SMR20:                 $161.48/100kg to $167.00/100kg– up 3.4%
Kuala Lumpur Latex:                    $127.39/100kg to $122.71/100kg – down 11.5%