[Geofin Comtrade] Daily report on Natural Rubber: January 4, 2016

MARKET COMMENTARY

Major overseas natural rubber markets reopen today after the New Year holidays.

TOCOM rubber futures have slump three percent while SHFE rubber futures fall over four percent on Monday as worries over demand persists amidst expectations oversupply.

Natural rubber in the Indian markets commenced this year’s trading on a firmer note with prices in the physical market staying steady around Rs.103 a kg. However, the broad trend stayed weak.

MARKET NEWS

Rubber inventories in the warehouses monitored by SHFE rose 3.8 per cent to 249307 tonnes last Friday from a week earlier.

Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will lend another 5 billion baht to rubber farmers seeking to do extra jobs during the ongoing price slump.

New plantings of rubber have been on a decline over the last three years and were down around 19% in 2014-15 (Apr-Mar), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.The total area under newly planted and replanted rubber trees was at 32,000 ha in 2014-15, down 11.1% from 36,000 ha a year ago.

India’s natural rubber production in November declined 16.7 percent to 50000tonnes according to the data from the Rubber Board. Imports declined as well by 13.7 per cent to 37445 tonnes.

Thailand on Tuesday approved $139 million in additional loans to help rubber farmers in the Southeast Asian country hit by weak global prices of the commodity.

Following the meeting of International Rubber Tripartite Council, officials have pledged to establish a new regional rubber trading platform that could be up and running by June 2016. Also, it has asked upon to implement a scheme in 2016 that would limit rubber supplied to market.

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Geofin Comtrade