Rubber prices reach new low

Back in October 2011, analysts at Deutsche Bank predicted that natural rubber prices would average US$4.50 a kilogramme in 2013. At the moment it looks as if that projection way off – last week, natural rubber prices reached a new low, sinking in excess of eight per cent to $2.50 a kilogramme.

Deutsche Bank research analyst Gaetan Toulemonde notes that the current price is 30 per cent below what tyre companies paid last year ($3.60 a kilogramme) and 15 per cent below what Deutsche Bank modelled in its estimates for this year. Toulemonde opines that these lower prices should provide a “significant tailwind this year”.