SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures rose on Wednesday on tighter supply in top producers Thailand and Vietnam as higher temperatures hampered tapping, while steady demand from Chinese tyre factories also provided support for prices.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for September delivery was up 3.6 yen, or 0.92percent, at 394 yen (USD2.48) per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery rose 165 yuan, or 0.97percent, to 17,220 yuan (USD2,524.26) per metric ton.
The most active May butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE fell 140 yuan, or 0.89percent, to 15,585 yuan per metric ton. Rubber tapping in Thailand and Vietnam has been largely hampered by high temperatures, and while some rainfall has alleviated the heat, it is still insufficient for large-scale tapping, a report from Chinese broker CITIC Securities Futures said.
Tapping in Indonesia and the Ivory Coast, however, remains in line with estimates, the report added, with tapping season in Southeast Asia expected to begin fully after the May Day holiday.
The average inventory turnover days of semi-steel and all-steel tyre factories in China were also down around 3-4 days year-on-year, indicating steady demand from tyre manufacturers, who will also have to restock ahead of the May Day holiday from May 1-5, CITIC Securities Futures said.
Malaysia’s Karex Bhd, the world’s top condom producer, plans to raise prices by 20percent to 30percent and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag on due to the Iran war, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Karex is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters in an interview. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for May delivery last traded at 208.2 US cents per kg, up 0.7percent as of 0704 GMT.
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