TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures rose more
than 4 percent to trade above 170 yen on Monday, as crude oil
prices extended gains.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March
delivery <0#JRU:> rose as high as 176.6 yen a kg, up 7.4 yen or
4.4 percent, before inching down a touch to 176.4 yen at 0044
GMT.
* The benchmark contract hit a trough of 159.3 yen on Friday,
the lowest since July 2005, before bouncing back to close at
169.2 yen.
* NYMEX crude for November delivery extended gains to
hover around $73 a barrel, boosted by expectations OPEC could cut
output at an emergency meeting this week to shore up prices.
* A forecast for Indonesia’s rubber export growth this year
has been trimmed to 4 percent, down from an earlier 5-7 percent,
as economic weakness dents demand, a senior official at the
Indonesian Rubber Association told reporters on Friday.
* Last week, dealers said Chinese buyers have defaulted on
more than 10,000 tonnes of rubber from Southeast Asia after
prices lost more than 30 percent in the past month on fears of a
global recession.

Source:  Reuters

BANGKOK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – The world’s three top rubber producers ended a meeting on Friday with a promise for more talks, but no firm commitments to deal with slumping prices.
Instead, delegates said they would pass on recommendations to agriculture ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, a response unlikely to bolster rubber prices that have more than halved from a record peak in June.
“We agreed to list all possible options that have to be undertaken by the 3 tripartite countries,” H. Agus Tjahjono, chairman of the International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), told reporters in Bangkok. He did not give details of the recommendations agreed by the IRCo members, which together account for 70 percent of world rubber output. The agriculture ministers from the three countries will meet in the last week of October.
Falling demand from the auto tyre sector, which accounts for around 60 percent of natural rubber use, has seen Tokyo rubber futures <0#JRU:> drop from a record above 350 yen a kg on June 30 to 169.2 yen on Friday.
Indonesia’s agriculture minister announced plans on Thursday to cut natural rubber production by 30 percent, including encouraging planters to reduce their tapping frequency to every three days instead of every two.
But the Indonesia Rubber Association on Friday said exports this year would grow by 4 percent, although this was down from an earlier forecast of 5-7 percent as economic weakness dents demand.

Source:  Reuters

BANGKOK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures rebounded on
Friday, recovering from the previous day’s losses as a rebound in
oil prices encouraged bargain hunting.
* The outlook for demand remains gloomy given slumping car
sales around the globe. But main producing countries Thailand,
Indonesia and Malaysia are set to announce later in the day
results of their two-day meeting in Bangkok to counter a collapse
in prices. [ID:nJAK371827]
* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange for March delivery <0#JRU:> rose 2.3 yen, or 1.4
percent, to end the morning session at 164.4 yen ($1.63) per kg.
It earlier fell as low as 159.3 yen, the lowest since July
2005.
* U.S. crude oil rose above $72 per barrel, maintaining the
momentum gained late on Wednesday following the late rally in the
U.S. equities markets. [O/R]
* A retreat in the yen against the dollar was also supportive
as it inflates yen-based TOCOM rices. The dollar was nearly flat
against the yen at 101.60 yen, off a low below 100 yen
earlier this week.
* But rubber exporters continued to unwind hedging long
positions in the wake of defaults on shipments by Chinese buyers
recently, limiting the TOCOM market’s rise.
* Talk of more rubber defaults saw physical rubber prices
quoted lower on Friday as buyers waited for cheaper prices,
traders said.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH THURSDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Nov) $1.60/kg -$0.23
Thai RSS3 (Dec) $1.60/kg -$0.23
Thai STR20 (Nov) $1.60/kg -$0.22
Thai STR20 (Dec) $1.60/kg -$0.22
Malaysia SMR20 (Nov) $1.70/kg -$0.15
Malaysia SMR20 (Dec) $1.70/kg -$0.15
Indonesia SIR20 (Nov) $0.70/lb -$0.14
Indonesia SIR20 (Dec) $0.70/lb -$0.14
Thai USS3 45 baht/kg -6 baht
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Nov) $1,100/tonne -$200
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Nov) $1,000/tonne -$200
($1=34.23 Baht)
($1=100.80 YEN)
Source:  Reuters

JAKARTA, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Indonesia plans to cut production of natural rubber output by 30 percent this year to lift slumping prices, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said on Thursday.
The minister said weakness in rubber prices would continue as the global economy slowed and dented demand from the automotive industry.
Natural rubber is used mostly to feed tyre industry.
“We have measures to pre-empt weakness in rubber prices by cutting production around 30 percent,” Apriyantono told reporters.
Planters, both smallholders farmers and rubber plantation companies, were being encouraged to reduce tapping frequency to once in three days from once in two days, he said.
Indonesia was expected to produce around 2.9 million tonnes of rubber this year, up from 2.75 million tonnes in 2007.
The country exported 2.41 million tonnes of natural rubber in 2007, up 4.78 percent from 2006, with the United States as the top buyer.
Tokyo rubber futures fell to a fresh three-year low on Thursday, losing 8.9 percent due to fears of weak demand for the industrial commodity, with defaults by Chinese buyers adding to the downward pressure.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for March delivery <0#JRU:> fell 15.9 yen to end the morning session at 162.2 yen ($1.60) per kg, the lowest since August 2005.
The ministry was also proposing to scrap palm oil tax when crude palm oil prices hit $650-$750 a tonne, Apriyantono said.

Source:  Reuters

Tocom rubber futures benchmark March RSS3 contract sinks to Y16 lower trading limit with most other contracts also at or hovering near lower limits. Weak fundamentals amid concerns about health of global economy, recent weakness in crude oil weigh; further losses likely in coming sessions, with test of Y150/kg psychological support expected next week, traders say. At 0620 GMT benchmark March RSS3 contract down Y16 at Y162.1/kg, lowest since August 2005. (ANJ)

Source:  Dow Jones Newswires