NR futures dip amid active trading in China, Japan

Tokyo – World rubber futures closed lower on all major exchanges during the trading week ended 28 April, according to Japan's JPX exchange.

“Major buyers in the past couple of weeks, such as Chinese speculative funds, looked to turn into profit-taking,” said JPX in its weekly report issued 1 May.

In Japan, OSE rubber futures dipped 1.0% week-on-week in active trading, with September-delivery contracts closing at Yen208.7.

Interestingly, the Osaka exchange recorded 15,713 contracts – a two-and-a-half-year high, since November 2020.

In China, SHFE rubber futures shed 1.8% to close at Yuan11,620, while INE futures fell 1.7% to Yuan9,555 under heavy trading volumes.

Futures on Singapore's SICOM exchange lost 0.7% for July-delivery contracts at $136.2, moving within a tight trading range amid weak trading volumes.

According to JPX, the market received mixed news related to rubber prices during the trading week.

A severe drought was reported in Yunnan with possible impact on rubber production in China.

Meanwhile, China's car sales in March increased by 24% by an additional 474,857 units, recovering from the previous month.

The report predicted that prices would likely move “without any clear directions” as trading by fund managers and speculators remained mixed.