RTAE: Rubber prices remain flat amid weak EU automotive demand

Brussels – Natural rubber prices continued to remain range-bound in September with TSR 20 prices showing “little sign of significant fluctuation,” according to Rubber Trade Association of Europe (RTAE).

Prices stayed in a narrow 4 €cent/kg band as the return from the European holiday summer season had no perceptible influence on physical demand, said RTAE in its latest monthly digest.

With reports of reduced auto production among the majors in Germany and Jaguar Land Rover in the UK closed following a cyberattack, outlook for tire and rubber demand remained weak.

In comparison with Europe, RTAE noted that the US and China economies have been “healthier though not predominantly in the auto sector.”

Overall, RTAE noted that Southeast Asian smallholder incomes from rubber are reported to be “at the lowest in real terms for a very long period.”

This, RTAE said, increases the likelihood of rubber producers switching crops for better returns.

“When consumer rubber demand recovers, the risk of sharply rising prices is far from negligible,” it warned.

Meanwhile, RTAE said, “the economic outlook and rubber prices remains uncertain.”