MARKET COMMENTARY
Weakness prevailed in the overseas natural rubber markets. Sharp declines are being witnessed in TOCOM and SHFE rubber futures on Friday, shedding more than five per cent respectively. Broad declines in industrial commodities along with weak cues from China weighed on overall market sentiments, sending natural rubber to negative trajectory. In the local market as well, the sentiments stayed feeble. RSS4 grade rubber was quoted at its weakest level since mid-April.
MARKET NEWS
China’s rubber imports (both natural and synthetic) in April amounted to 500000 tonnes, down 7.4 percent from a month earlier.
An Action Taken Report (ATR) of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on commerce chaired by Chandan Mitra has criticised the Centre for its indifferent attitude towards natural rubber (NR). The report says that the government has been indifferent to the woes of rubber farmers and permitted excess imports, delayed the national policy on rubber and kept key posts in the state-run Rubber Board vacant for more than two years.
According to a deputy chairman of the Rubber Holder Co-operatives Federation of Thailand,the production of natural rubber has fallen about 50% from January to April year-on-year due to the drought.
Vietnam’s natural rubber exports could drop 12 percent from a year ago to around 1 million tonnes in 2016, as part of the country’s commitment to cut supply and help stabilise prices, Vietnam Customs said.
India’s natural rubber production fell to its lowest level in about two decades in 2015-16 to 563000 tonnes, a 13 per cent fall from the previous year’s production of 645000 tonnes. Consumption declined as well, by three per cent on YoY basis to 987540 tonnes.
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Geofin Comtrade
