SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures slid on Tuesday to their lowest levels in more than a year, pressured by weak demand for the tyre-making material in top consumer China and expectations of increased supply due to seasonal tapping.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for November delivery was down 5.3 yen, or 1.82%, at 285.6 yen ($1.99) per kg, as of 0207 GMT.
Earlier in the session, prices hit 280 yen, their lowest point since February 13, 2024.
The slide has been exacerbated by weaker-than-usual demand from tyre manufacturers, coupled with expectations that seasonal raw material output in June will meet or exceed forecasts, said a Singapore-based trader.
“As a result, the market anticipates a supply surplus, prompting futures traders to sell in advance,” the trader added.
On the supply front, the tapping of domestic and foreign production areas is progressing smoothly, and the supply of raw materials will increase significantly in June, said broker Everbright Futures.
Rubber crops usually undergo a season of low production from February to May, before a peak harvesting period that lasts until September.
Meanwhile, the price war in automotive industries has squeezed profits, while downstream demand from semi-steel tyre enterprises has weakened, added Everbright.
In China, an intensifying auto industry price war in China has stoked fears of a long-anticipated shake-out in the world’s largest car market.
Automobile sales could influence the intensity of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres.
Broadly, China’s factory activity in May shrank for the first time in eight months, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday, indicating U.S. tariffs are now starting to directly hurt the manufacturing superpower.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for June delivery last traded at 158.7 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.8%.
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