Natural rubber futures edge higher after China holiday

Tokyo – Natural rubber (NR) futures strengthened in the trading week ended 10 Oct, following the week-long Chinese national day holiday.

In Osaka, Japan, the March-2026 rubber contract on the Osaka Exchange (OSE) rose 4.8% week-on-week in light trading as the Japanese yen weakened sharply against the US dollar, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) reported 13 Oct.

In Shanghai, China, SHFE and INE rubber futures closed 1.2% and 1.3% higher, respectively, while SICOM’s active December contract gained 0.3% week-on-week on “modest buying interest.”

Prices, however, “continued to trade within a tight range without a clear direction,” JPX noted.

According to JPX, reports of renewed trade war between China and the US "raised concerns that rubber and equity markets in both China and the US could come under renewed pressure."