Rubber futures mixed as ‘weak’ Chinese economy dampens sentiment

Tokyo – Natural rubber (NR) futures closed the trading week ending 5 April with mostly mixed results across major rubber exchanges.

In its weekly review of the market, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) said RSS3 prices weakened on the Osaka exchange OSE and Shanghai exchange SHFE.

Meanwhile in China and Singapore, TSR20 prices remained steadier on INE and SICOM respectively, said JPX 8 April.

Rubber prices traded “within narrow ranges” throughout the week, with a two-day holiday in China resulting in subdued trading activity.

Trading volume fell significantly, with some exchanges experiencing over a 50% decline compared to the previous week.

According to JPX, open interest also dropped sharply on SHFE and INE as a result of “long liquidation and profit-taking”.

Despite concerns over supply and the impact of El Nino providing “some support” to prices, JPX said market sentiment was dampened by “the weakness in the Chinese economy”.

Sentiment was particularly impacted after a decrease in recent speculative buying.