Rubber Price Reaches 22-year High

Following soaring demand and tight supply, the price of natural rubber has reached a 22-year high. Now, as a result The Times reports that speculators are pumping money into rubber futures, after fears that the supply situation could worsen because of adverse weather and “rumours of unrest in Muslim areas in Southern Thailand.” Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia produce 60 per cent of the world’s natural rubber. The International Rubber Study Group (ISRG) reports that tightness in the supply of natural rubber is likely to continue, predicting a deficit of 820,000 tons by 2010, up from 250,000 tons this year.