BLBG:Rubber Declines as Oil Rally Stalls, Thailand Enters Recession
Rubber declined the most in three weeks as a drop in oil reduced the prospects for gains in competing synthetic products, and as Thailand entered a recession for the first time since 2009.
Rubber for delivery in January on Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 2.1 percent to settle at 260.8 yen a kilogram ($2,685 a metric ton), the most for a most-active contract since July 29. Futures have declined 14 percent this year.
West Texas Intermediate crude fell for the first time in seven days yesterday and extended declines today. Asian stocks dropped for a fourth day as Thailand, the largest rubber producer, entered a recession and India’s currency tumbled to a record low.
“As emerging economies showed signs of weakening, concerns grew over rubber demand,” said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research company JSC Corp. in Tokyo.
Rubber for delivery in January fell 1.9 percent to close at 19,470 yuan ($3,180) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Natural-rubber inventories increased 4,457 tons to 122,645 tons, the highest level since February 2010, the bourse said on Aug. 16 based on a survey of nine warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin.
Thai rubber free-on-board dropped 0.6 percent to 81.25 baht ($2.56) a kilogram today, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Aya Takada in Tokyo at atakada2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net
