MARKET COMMENTARY
Weakening yen along with a bounce in oil prices lifted TOCOM rubber futures to six week high. On Thursday, the benchmark December rubber futures advanced more than three per cent to hit its highest level since early-June. Rising SHFE rubber futures aided the sentiments as well. September rubber futures on SHFE added about two per cent after rising nearly one per cent last day.
In the Indian markets on Wednesday, natural rubber traded steady to positive. On NMCE, near month August rubber futures inched up by 1.7 per cent, supported by positive cues from the major overseas market. In the spot market, RSS4 grade rubber traded rather flat.
MARKET NEWS
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 10,402 tonnes as of June. 30, down 10.2 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed.
The International Tripartite Rubber Council plans to hold a meeting on Aug 9 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss the future of the rubber-export arrangement, which was made to help boost the commodity’s price according to EdyIrwansyah, secretary of North Sumatra’s branch of the Indonesian rubber association GAPKINDO.
China’s tire production totaled 118.4 million units during the first four months of 2016, a rise of 5 per cent over the same period of 2015, according to data from the China Rubber Industry Association. In particular, production of radial tires and all-steel radial tires jumped 6.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent year on year to 108.4 million units and 26.2 million units, respectively. Output value of the tire industry was 51.7 billion yuan (approx. US$7.8 billion) during the reporting period, down 5.4 per cent year on year. Sales income of the industry also tumbled 5.3 per cent to 47.1 billion yuan (approx. US$7.1 billion).
China’s natural rubber imports stood at 193,226 tons in May, down 9 per cent month on month and up 38 per cent year on year, according to statistics from General Administration of Customs. For the first five months of the year, the importing volume amounted to 1,010,495 tons, up 3.8 per cent year on year.
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Geofin Comtrade
