London – Almost all major natural rubber (NR) futures monitored by ERJ over the last month posted double-digit gains during October, as supply tightened and demand continued to rise.
In Shanghai, the most-active rubber contract for January delivery surged to an annual high, closing at Yuan15,680/tonne on 30 Oct - up more than 24% compared to end of September.
In Japan, prices rocketed to their highest in over three years, posting a 36% increase to Yen250/kg over the four weeks to end of October.
Other markets, including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok also saw prices rise, amid slumping crude and weaker dollar.
The surge in prices mainly reflected supply woes as producers in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia faced varying problems of heavy rain falls, wintering season, and labour shortages.
In addition, the markets soared in response to fears of rubber gloves' shortage and industrial rebound in China.
Shanghai SHFE ru2101: Yuan15,680/tonne (30 Oct) compared to Yuan12,625/tonne (30 Sept) – up 24%
OSE RSS3 nearby month: Yen250.2/kg compared to Yen183.9/kg (2 Oct) – up 36%
Singapore SGX TSR20: $158.6/100kg compared to $136.4/100kg – up 16.2%
Kuala Lumpur SMR20: $170.89/100kg compared to $136.70/100kg – up 25%
Kuala Lumpur Latex: $174.90/100kg compared to $121.15/100kg compared – up 44%
Bangkok RSS3: $262.72/100kg compared to $197.54/100kg – up 32%
Bangkok STR20: $173.19/100kg compared to $162.14/100kg – up 6%
