Natural Rubber Prices Continue Upward Climb

(Akron/Tire Review) By 7 June, natural rubber prices had risen to a 12-month high of $3.12 a pound on the Tokyo Commodities Exchange. Tyre output in China rose 27 per cent, to 239 million units last year, and the country’s tyre exports nearly doubled, to 34.8 million units.

At the same time global manufacturers continue to purchase more natural rubber as its synthetic counterpart becomes more costly, according to experts monitoring the data. Data reported by Bloomberg, for example, indicates that US Gulf spot prices for butadiene, the petrochemical used to make synthetic rubber, have risen 93 per cent, to 57 cents a pound over the past year.