SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures nudged higher on Tuesday, supported by higher oil prices and tight raw material supply as rain disrupted tapping in southern Thailand.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was up 0.6 yen, or 0.13 percent, at 452.1 yen (USD2.86) per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery was little changed at 19,865 yuan (USD2,974.38) per metric ton. The most-active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE fell 280 yuan, or 1.73 percent, to 15,900 yuan per metric ton.
Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil. Rainfall has eased in northern and northeastern Thailand, lifting seasonal output, though the rainy season continues to disrupt tapping in the south, analysts from broker Minmetals Futures said in a note. Top rubber producer Thailand’s meteorological agency warned of severe rains and flash floods from October 19 to 25.
Competition among rubber mills for raw materials has kept purchase prices elevated even as futures declined from recent highs, with mills facing thin profit margins, the analysts said.
Prices of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber were up 0.4 percent and 0.43 percent, to stand at 96.43 baht per kg and 89.27 baht per kg, respectively.
China’s rubber tyre exports totalled 7.48 million tons in the first three quarters of 2026, up 2.7 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed on October 18.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 253.4 US cents per kg, up 0.8 percent as of 0707 GMT.