SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures edged lower on Monday as Beijing’s latest stimulus package left investors disappointed across markets, although stronger automobile sales in top consumer China helped stem the losses.
The April Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract closed down 3.3 yen, or 0.9%, at 364.0 yen ($2.37) per kg.
The January rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 315 yuan, or 1.7%, to finish at 18,220 yuan ($2,536.97) per metric ton.
China unveiled a 10 trillion yuan ($1.40 trillion) debt package on Friday to ease local government financing strains and stabilise flagging economic growth, as it faces fresh pressure from the re-election of Donald Trump as US president.
Finance Minister Lan Foan said more stimulus was coming, with some analysts saying Beijing may not want to fire all its weapons before Trump takes over officially in January.
Highlighting the weak background in China, data on Saturday showed consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in October, while producer price deflation deepened.
Oil prices extended declines on Monday after the Chinese stimulus plan disappointed investors seeking fuel demand growth in the world’s No. 2 oil consumer, and as the threat of a supply disruption from a US storm eased.
Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.
Limiting the losses, China’s passenger vehicle sales jumped 11.2% in October year-on-year, the second straight monthly rise and the fastest growth since January, as automakers raced to meet annual sales targets.
Automobile sales could influence the intensity of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres. The front-month November rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform last traded at 196.0 US cents per kg, down 0.5%.
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