SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday, tracking rising Malaysian output data, though higher oil prices limited the losses. The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for January delivery was down 4.6 yen, or 1.08percent, at 420.5 yen (USD2.64) per kg.
The contract rose 1.05percent this week, its third consecutive weekly gain. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery lost 95 yuan, or 0.53percent, to 17,790 yuan (USD2,638.06) per metric ton.
The most active September butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE rose 185 yuan, or 1.37percent, to 13,650 yuan per metric ton. Malaysia’s natural rubber production rose 31.5percent month-on-month to 26,553 tons in June, up 1.2percent from a year earlier, while exports jumped 35.2percent from the previous month, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia showed on Thursday.
China remained the top destination for Malaysian natural rubber exports, accounting for 55.8percent of the total in June, with rubber gloves the leading export product at 1.4 billion ringgit, up 19.7percent from May, the data showed.
Rubber crops usually undergo a season of low production from February to May, before a peak harvesting period that lasts until September. Oil prices gained on Friday after the United States threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, reviving concerns about supply of crude after the previous session’s fall on a weaker outlook for demand and a large buildup in US stocks.
Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for November delivery last traded at 218.4 US cents per kg, down 0.7percent as of 0700 GMT.
Comments