Global stock markets were mixed from Monday through Wednesday as investors awaited an outcome of congressional testimony on the economy and monetary policy on Wednesday and Thursday weather the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) would start scaling back its stimulus program before the end of this year. However, the global stock markets moved higher on Thursday and Friday after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the timeline for winding down the central bank’s stimulus program was not set in stone.
The reassurance from the Fed chairman on Wednesday led to the weakening of the yen and the rises in crude oil and gold futures on Thursday and Friday. These also convinced market players on bellwether Tokyo rubber futures to turn back to long positions amid profit-taking along the week and helped support Shanghai rubber futures and physical rubber markets inAsia to follow suit.
On the production front, adverse weather in Thailand still disturbed rubber tapping in most parts of the country and resulted in delayed shipments. The latest update on rubber stocks atQingdao’s bonded warehouses fell to 330,300 tons from 341,900 tons in early July, according to Reuters Newswires on 17 July. IRCo calculated that there should be less than 200,000 tons of natural rubber stocks at Qingdao bonded warehouses at present while the rest comprises synthetic and compound rubber.
Lastly, the International Rubber Study Group cut down its latest forecast on global natural rubber surplus in 2013 to 284,000 tons from 322,000 tons in 2012.
Source: IRCo
