MUMBAI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Global natural rubber prices are likely to remain firm in the short term due to stronger crude oil prices and as consumption growth outpaces production, a group of producers said on Wednesday. Consumption of natural rubber among members of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) rose 4.3 percent to 7.387 million tonnes in January-November while production increased only 0.4 percent, Nguyen Ngoc Bich, secretary-general of ANRPC, said in a statement. ANRPC members, which include major producers Thailand and Indonesia, together account for about 90 percent of global rubber output.
Output this year could rise just 0.1 percent to 11.08 million tonnes, Bich said. Production increased 1.1 percent in 2015. Japanese rubber futures, a benchmark in Asia, surged to 245.6 yen per kg on Nov.29, the highest level in 1-1/2 years.
Bich said rubber prices will also benefit in the short term from firmer oil prices. Brent crude oil LCOc1 jumped 15 percent last week in its biggest increase since early 2009 after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia announced they would jointly cut production next year in an attempt to prop up markets.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.)
