Rubber futures up on speculative buying, Thai supply concerns

Tokyo – Natural rubber futures ended the final trading week of May higher across all exchanges, supported by “fresh speculative buying” on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and short covering on the International Energy Exchange (INE).

In Osaka, Japan, OSE October rubber contracts settled 4.2% higher week-on-week in “moderate trading,” said Japan Exchange Group (JPX) 1 June.

Prices, said JPX, “advanced in line with firmer overseas markets and strong buying interest on the Chinese market, reaching the highest level since April 2011, with the broader uptrend remaining firmly intact.”

Meanwhile, SHFE and INE rubber contracts gained 2.6% and 4.1% week-on-week, respectively.

In Singapore, SICOM’s August contract advanced 4.0% compared to the week before in a shortened holiday trading week.

Here, JPX said, weekly trading volume declined due to a one-day national holiday, while open interest edged up, indicating light fresh buying interest.

According to JPX, commodity funds and speculators have remained active in recent weeks, driving rubber prices to multi-year highs.

Additional support came from concerns over tightening supply from Thailand, the world's largest natural rubber producer.