Natural Rubber Prices Continue Climbing

Bloomberg reports that natural rubber prices continued rising for the third straight day on fears that heavy rains will hurt output in Thailand. Tokyo rubber futures jumped 1.5 per cent on Thursday after a 3.8 per cent rise earlier in the week. A monsoon is dumping heavy rains on many parts of Thailand, the world’s largest natural rubber producer, and are not expected to dissipate soon.

NR for November delivery increased by 4.3 yen to 285.2 yen/kilogram ($3,184/metric ton) before settling at 284.7 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. December-delivery NR has opened at 279 yen/kilogramme, Bloomberg said. Analysts said that China, the world’s biggest importer of natural rubber, is expected to increase its imports of NR to 1.68 million tons this year, up from 1.59 million in 2009. Inventory levels there are said to be “worse than expected,” Bloomberg reported. As a result, analysts expect rubber prices to potentially increase 26 per cent next year. (Tire Review)