Rubber futures slump on tariff uncertainty, overcapacity

Tokyo – Natural rubber futures ended the final trading week of July sharply lower across all major exchanges – ending a rally that had led to “overbought conditions”.

“Both speculative investors and commodity funds were active sellers, unwinding long positions and triggering stop-loss orders,” said Japan Exchange Group (JPX) in a 4 Aug report.

Furthermore, the market was further pressured by rumours that Chinese commodity funds and speculators offloaded 350,000 tonnes of rubber across SHFE, INE, and SICOM markets.

In Osaka, Japan, OSE’s December 2025 contract rubber fell 5.2% week-on-week in moderate trading.

In Shanghai, China, SHFE and INE declined by 6.8% and 7.3% respectively versus the previous trading week, according to JPX data.

In Singapore, SICOM's active October-2025 contract suffered the steepest drop: closing 8.5% lower than the week before in moderate trading.

Open interest declined across all rubber exchanges, indicating “broad-based long liquidation.”

Market sentiment was further dampened by a 1 Aug US tariff deadline and China's “persistent overcapacity issues,” both of which weighed on broader commodity markets, including rubber.