NR prices starting to increase again

London - After a six-week respite, it appears that natural rubber prices are heading upwards once more. Although prices are still a few percentage points below the record highs achieved in February, the trend appears to be upward.

In Tokyo the benchmark 6-month futures prices closed at 249.5 yen/kilo on Friday, about 7 percent below the record close of 267.5 set on 3 Feb. Futures contracts are currently trading at around 245 ¥/kg (around $2.07).

India's spot markets have been steadily climbing over the last few weeks, after a slump in late February, and are now at Rs 81.5, just a couple of percentage points short of the record Rs 83 set in early Feb. Futures prices remain in the high-80s range, with traders expecting further rises.

In Singapore RSS3 spot is trading at around 205 US cents/kg some 7 percent lower than the record figure of 220 achieved in early February, while the futures contracts closed around 207 US cents/kg, compared with around 220 during Feb. Meanwhile there was no trading at all in RSS1, but the spot price closed at 335 Sing cents/kg, about 7 percent off the early-Feb highs, while the 12-month contract closed at a nominal price of 341.5 Sing cents/kg (US$2.10).

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Price charts SICOM (Singapore)

Price charts Tocom (Tokyo)

Price charts NMCE (India)

Rubber prices on the rise again The Hindu Business Line (India)

Uptrend in physical rubber prices The Hindu Business Line (India)

Rubber bonanza: prices are going through the roof New Straits Times (Malaysia)