RTAE: Rubber prices ‘rangebound’ in August

London – TSR 20 prices remained largely ‘static’ throughout August, fluctuating within a narrow 5 €cent/kg band, according to the Rubber Trade Association of Europe (RTAE).

The euro-dollar exchange rate showed little movement during the month, which is considered as the “main vacation month,” with many market participants absent in Europe.

There was no sign of improvement, actual or anticipated, in the auto production sector, the association noted.

Overall, the RTAE said, the current US administration’s “tariff mania has done nothing to stabilise the market outlook with the threat of further tariff increases on US imports from a wide range of countries now implemented.”

The association also pointed to ongoing geopolitical instability, saying that the “uncertainty and indecisiveness” surrounding efforts to reduce conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine continued to have “adverse or perverse” economic consequences.

“As ever,” it concluded, “the economic outlook – and rubber prices – remain uncertain.”