SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures rose on Friday, supported by a rebound in Chinese tyre production and a firmer Shanghai market, although softer Thai physical prices took the contract to a weekly loss.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was up 3.7 yen, or 0.83 percent, at 450.3 yen (USD2.85) per kg. The contract lost 2.87 percent this week. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery rose 90 yuan, or 0.46 percent, to 19,850 yuan (USD2,968) per metric ton. The most active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE surged 315 yuan, or 2 percent, to 16,085 yuan per metric ton.
China’s semi-steel tyre production rate rose to 60.43 percent as of October 15, from 28.48 percent a week earlier, while the all-steel tyre production rate climbed to 52.22 percent from 28.97 percent, as factories resumed output after the National Day holiday, data from rubber information provider Qinrex showed.
The prices of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber were down 0.03 percent and 3.16 percent, respectively.
Thai latex cost support is weakening as the region enters its seasonal production upswing, though a super-strong El Niño and very low short-term inventories continue to offer underlying price support, analysts from broker GF Futures said in a note.
Meanwhile, global demand for electric vehicles fell 2 percent in September, ending six consecutive months of growth, as record sales in Europe were not enough to offset sharp declines in North America and China, data from UK-based research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence showed on Friday. Automobile sales could influence the intensity of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 251.9 US cents per kg, up 0.6 percent as of 0705 GMT.
Comments