‘Firmer’ start to New Year for natural rubber futures
9 Jan 2023
Share:
China’s reopening of borders positively impacts trading on Far East markets
Tokyo – After end-of-2022 reversals, natural rubber (NR) futures closed firmer on the first trading week of 2023, as Beijing's easing of Covid restrictions improved market sentiment.
China opened its borders to foreigners on 8 Jan, a move that “positively impacted” rubber futures prices despite concerns about spreading Covid-19, said the Japan's JPX exchange.
Over the trading week ended 6 Jan, rubber futures on the Osaka exchange gained 1.3%, while China’s SHFE and INE saw increases of 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
Singapore’s SICOM futures rose 1.6% with generally quiet transactions, JPX added in its weekly market report issued 9 Jan.
In related news, Japan's new car sales in 2022 dropped 5.6% year-on-year to hit a 45-year low.
There was better news from the US, where the unemployment rate in December fell 0.2 percentage points to 3.5%, and the non-farm payroll added 223,000 jobs.
The figures, noted JPX, beat market expectations and sparked a strong rally in the US equity market.
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox