Year-end demand, rainy season support rubber futures

Tokyo – Natural rubber (NR) futures closed the trading week ended 17 Nov with “modest gains across all exchanges”, according to the Japan Exchange (JPX).

Although trading volume decreased, there were fresh buying flows, leading to increased open interest on most exchanges, said JPX in its weekly NR trading report.

In Osaka, Japan, OSE’s new active April delivery rubber futures inched up by 0.6% week-on-week in “subdued trading,” said the review issued 20 Nov.

In China, SHFE and INE futures gained 0.5% and 2.1%, respectively, while Singapore’s SICOM futures grew 2.0% due to “fresh speculative buying”.

JPX linked the “firmness in rubber prices” to consumers-buying and year-end demand.

The trend, it said, was further supported by the onset of the year-end rainy season in some producing countries.

The report also noted ‘optimism’ with regards to improved rubber demand in China, driven by expectations of further economic recovery on recent interest rate cuts.

Selected NR futures price trends on major trading exchanges