TOKYO (May 11): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended 2.2% higher on Thursday, helped by a weaker yen and firm Shanghai futures.
An executive at Thailand’s Sri Trang Agro Industry Pcl, the world’s biggest natural rubber producing company, said on Thursday that rubber prices are expected to be volatile while China’s economy remains uncertain.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery finished 4.7 yen higher at 213.8 yen (US$1.87) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 190 yuan to finish at 13,725 yuan (US$1,989) per tonne, recovering from an eight-month low hit in the previous day.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for June delivery was last traded at 149.20 US cents per kg, up 1.2 US cent.
In market news, Sri Trang Agro-Industry Pcl, the world’s biggest natural rubber producing company, said it plans to increase production capacity to 2.9 million tonnes this year from 2.4 million tonnes last year.
In industry news, German diversified speciality chemicals group Lanxess said more strategic steps could be in the offing in the second half of the year, following recent acquisitions worth a combined 2.6 billion euros (US$2.83 billion).
(US$1 = 114.1600 yen)
(US$1 = 6.9014 Chinese yuan renminbi)
