Rubber futures end year on a strong note

Tokyo – Global rubber futures closed the year with gains across major exchanges in the trading week ended 29 Dec, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) has reported.

On Japan’s Osaka exchange, pricing for OSE rubber futures rose 4.5% in moderate trading, according to the weekly review of Far East rubber markets.

In China, meanwhile, futures pricing on the SHFE and INE exchanges increased by 1.8% and  5.7% respectively “in solid trading volume.”

And, on the SICOM exchange in Singapore, rubber futures also rose 4.3% in active trading, added the JPX report issued 1 Jan.

The general pick-up in pricing, it said, for the commodity was driven by fresh speculative buying and short-covering as traders closed their books for the year.

The final trading week of 2023 also saw “robust buying” on Chinese exchanges linked to optimism about an economic recovery in China for 2024.

Furthermore, JPX noted, “concerns over a potential rubber shortage in the coming year, attributed to declining production in both Thailand and Indonesia.”