SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures gained for a third straight session on a softer yen and firmer crude oil, with higher physical rubber prices in Thailand also lending support.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for September delivery was up 6.5 yen, or 1.77percent, at 372.9 yen (USD2.34) per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for May delivery rose 90 yuan, or 0.55percent, to 16,460 yuan (USD2,385.30) per metric ton. The most active May butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE rose 740 yuan, or 4.29percent, to 17,975 yuan per metric ton.
Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber gained 1.28percent and 1.61percent to 85.6 baht per kg and 73.15 baht per kg, respectively.
The yen held at 159.41 against the dollar, hovering near its weakest levels since 2024. A stronger currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers. Oil climbed, recovering some of Wednesday’s losses, as investors re-examined prospects for de-escalation in the Middle East as Iran said it was still reviewing a US proposal to end the war, which has disrupted energy flows. Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.
Butadiene rubber prices are supported in the short-term due to limited naphtha stocks causing butadiene plants to curtail production, several Chinese brokers said.
The rise in butadiene prices has surpassed that of butadiene rubber, squeezing margins for butadiene rubber plants, causing plants to consider large-scale production cuts, Guotai Junan Futures said in a note.
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