NR prices to remain above $4 - IRCo

ERJ staff report (DS)

Kuala Lumpur -- Natural rubber prices are unlikely to fall below $4 a kilogram in the third quarter this year, International Rubber Consortium's acting chief executive Yium Tavarolit said on Tuesday.

"Although the global economy has slowed down and investors are cautious, having sold down for the time being, rubber production and demand from tyre manufacturers are steady," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Yium said despite a slowdown in top consumers China and India, their demand requirements will be "steady." Demand from emerging markets such as the Middle East, Brazil and Russia will also support prices, he added.

Global natural rubber production is expected to hit 9.9 million metric tons this year, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries said in its latest report. ANRPC members account for about 92 percent of global natural rubber output.

On Tokyo's Tocom Exchange, prices for the six-month contract eased by about yen 3, closing at yen 383 ($4.75) per kg on Thursday 16 June. Shorter-dated prices moved down, trading at around yen 413.

In Singapore, SGX said short-dated RSS3 was unchanged from Wednesday's prices at around $5.09 with longer-dated contracts down at around $4.90. Short-dated TSR 20 was trading down by about $0.02 at $4.60.

In India, the NMCE saw June deliveries rise by about four rupees to around Rs231 ($5.14) per kilo

In China, the Shanghai Futures Exchange also saw prices by nearly a yuan, with June deliveries trading at around Yuan 35.0 ($5.40) per kilo

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Press release from IRCo

Rubber prices on Tocom (Tokyo)

Rubber prices on SGX (Singapore) (Previous Sicom contracts)

Rubber prices on NMCE (India)

Rubber prices on SFE (Shanghai)

IRCo Weekly market watch (30 May - 3 June 2011) from IRCo

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Mixed trend in rubber The Hindu Business Line (India)