Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a one-week high on Wednesday on the back of firm Shanghai futures. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been getting little support from the ongoing curbs in exports by a group of three of the world's top natural rubber producers, as domestic stockpiles built up to more than a three-year high.
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 15,206 tonnes as of February 28, up 2.2 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Wednesday. That would be the highest since August 31, 2014, the data showed. "Despite the ongoing wintering period that curbs production, the stockpile build-up is worrying because that signals weak demand," said a Japanese industry source.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery finished 2.4 yen higher at 194.7 yen ($1.83) per kg after touching 195.4 yen earlier, the highest since March 5. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 95 yuan to finish at 12,775 yuan ($2,022) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 146.2 US cents per kg, up 0.3 cent.
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