TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures edged higher on Tuesday, supported by firmer Thai physical prices and signs of tight supply, even as weakness in top consumer China’s auto sector weighed on market sentiment.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was up 0.7 yen, or 0.15 percent, at 460.5 yen (USD2.91) per kg. The market was closed on Monday for a holiday.
The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery fell 475 yuan, or 2.29 percent, to 20,305 yuan (USD3,032.59) per metric ton.
The most-active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE slumped 420 yuan, or 2.53 percent, to 16,180 yuan per ton.
Prices of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber were up 1.34 percent and 1.03 percent, respectively.
Short-term natural rubber warehouse receipts remain low, far below levels in previous years, analysts from broker Guangzhou Futures said in a note.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.2 percent from the last release on September 30, the exchange said on Friday.
Malaysia’s natural rubber exports fell 18.2 percent month-on-month to 33,426 tons in August, even as production rose 9.6 percent to 29,510 tons, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia showed on Monday.
China’s passenger vehicle sales fell 28.1 percent year-on-year to 1.63 million units in September, after a 23.7 percent decline in August, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Monday.
Automobile sales could influence the pace of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres.
The European Union and China reached a deal to limit Chinese hybrid car imports to 350,000 vehicles a year, with measures to take effect from early December, an EU Commission official said on Monday. The curbs add to pressure on Chinese automakers already facing slowing domestic sales.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 257.1 US cents per kg, down 1.6 percent as of 0700 GMT.
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