Natural rubber price rally runs of steam

Tokyo – After a recent surge in prices, natural rubber (NR) futures finished the trading week, ended 16 Oct, lower across all Far East exchanges.

“Profit-taking and position close-outs by commodity funds weighed on prices,” Japan Exchange Group (JPX) explained in its latest weekly review.

On the Osaka exchange in Japan, NR futures prices settled 2.1% below the prior week closing level amid quiet trading.

On China’s SHFE and INE exchanges, meanwhile, rubber futures ended 1.6% and 2.3% lower, respectively, continued the market report.

Commodity funds and speculators "may have sold more than 480kt of rubber futures across the two Chinese exchanges" during the week, noted JPX.

In Singapore, NR prices on the SICOM exchange fell 3.9% week-on-week in “relatively active trading,” added the Tokyo-based group’s review.

Overall, JPX linked the pricing reversals to “weakness in global equities and growing concerns over AI related stocks, particularly semiconductor shares.”

“A slowing Chinese economy and the prospect of higher global interest rates could also weigh on commodity prices,” added the weekly review.