Rubber futures see ‘sharp rise’ due to severe weather conditions

Tokyo – Natural rubber (NR) prices experienced a significant surge last week due to severe weather conditions affecting producers in Southeast Asia.

NR futures closed the trading week ended 20 Sept “sharply higher” across all major exchanges, reported Japan Exchange Group (JPX) 23 Sept.

The price rise, JPX said, was driven by “panic and speculative buying” due to typhoons and tropical storms affecting Thailand, southern China, and Vietnam.

In Japan, OSE rubber rose 2.2% week-on-week, while China’s SHFE and INE gained 2.2% and 4.5%, respectively. 

In Singapore, SICOM rubber surged 5.5% on strong physical and speculative demand.

According to JPX, prices have entered “the overbought territory, suggesting potential profit-taking in the coming weeks.”

Open interest increased sharply as fresh long positions were added across the markets.

In addition, synthetic rubber markets also saw significant speculative buying, with SHFE synthetic rubber (BR) futures climbing 4% week-on-week.

In related news, Vietnam's rubber exports in the first eight months of 2024 totalled 1.12 million tonnes, a 7.2% decrease year-on-year, although the export value rose due to higher rubber prices.

Malaysia saw a 33% increase in rubber production in July, reaching nearly 38,000 tonnes, up from 28,533 tonnes reported a year earlier.

Meanwhile, China reported a month-on-month rise in vehicle sales for August, with an additional 191,462 units sold. Year-on-year, however, August marked fifth straight month of decline in sales.