BLBG: Rubber in Tokyo Jumps to One-Month High as Export Offers Climb
By Jae Hur
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber in Tokyo gained for a third day to a one-month high on increased export offers as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s largest producers of the commodity, curb exports.
Shippers in Thailand increased their offers for RSS-3 grade rubber for August shipment to $1.71 a kilogram today from $1.67 yesterday and $1.63 on July 10, according to Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at broker Okachi & Co. in Tokyo. Rubber futures in Tokyo jumped as much as 4.4 percent today.
“The market will see a supply bottleneck as car production has gradually been increasing,” Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures & Securities Ltd., said by phone today. “The market was also supported by external factors, including a rise in crude oil and a weaker yen.”
Natural rubber for December delivery added as much as 7.1 yen to 167.8 yen a kilogram ($1,781 a metric ton), the highest since June 15, on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and was at 163.9 yen at 11:53 a.m. Tokyo time. The price has gained 20 percent this year.
Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia will reduce shipments by as much as 48,000 tons a month in the second half, Abdul Rasip Latiff, chief executive officer of the International Rubber Consortium Ltd., said yesterday. The countries cut exports by 540,000 tons in the first five months of the year from the year- earlier period, higher than the 414,000 tons originally planned for the first-half, he said.
Export Curbs
The raw material, used for car tires, slumped 56 percent in 2008 after the global recession slashed demand. The three nations, which harvest about 7 million tons of rubber a year, announced a plan in December to curb exports by 700,000 tons.
Crude oil rose as much as 0.8 percent to $62.01 a barrel today after gaining 3.4 percent yesterday. It traded at $61.38 by 11:56 a.m. Tokyo time. Higher crude oil prices increase the cost of making rival synthetic rubber.
The dollar was at 94.10 yen after advancing 1.8 percent in the previous three days.
Rubber for November delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active contract, added 0.5 percent from the previous day’s close to 16,090 yuan ($2,355) a ton at 11:10 a.m. local time after rising to 16,305 yuan.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net
