Natural rubber futures strengthen on light buying, short covering

Tokyo – Natural rubber futures ended the second trading week of November higher across all major exchanges, though trading volumes were “thinner,” reported Japan Exchange Group (JPX) 17 Nov.

During the week ended 15 Nov, Singapore’s SICOM saw “pockets of light, fresh buying,” while “short covering trading was observed in other markets,” said JPX.

Prices “firmed early in the week” after China posted an October CPI reading of +0.2% year-on-year, a result that JPX said signalled “improving price stability and prospects for further economic recovery.”

China’s October vehicle sales also supported sentiment, rising by 95,719 units to 3,322,094 units, despite “a slight decline in commercial vehicle sales.”

Across the exchanges, the OSE April-2026 RSS3 contract closed 3.7% higher week-on-week, “in quiet trading.”

SICOM’s active February-2026 TSR contract closed 1.4% higher in “subdued trading.”

In China, SHFE’s January-2026 RU contract settled 1.7% higher week-on-week while INE TSR finished the firmer with January-2026 delivery contracts up 2.0% compared to the week before.

JPX said rubber prices are “likely to remain range-bound,” with the forward curve “staying mostly flat across exchanges.”