TOKYO, Dec 25 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday as weak demand and falling crude oil prices continued to hurt market sentiment.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery <0#JRU:> ended the morning session down 3.5 yen, or 2.7 percent, at 125.8 yen.
“The market had been slowly rebounding off a recent low as investors grew wary of pushing prices too low, but the upside is limited due to the deep slump in demand that has come with the global recession,” said a Tokyo-based trader.
“There is only so much suppliers can do to help support prices. As long as demand remains slack, the market will not turn around,” the trader said, adding that the key futures contract was likely to hover around 120 yen for now.
* The key Tokyo rubber futures hit a one-month high approaching 140 yen on Monday on hopes for a scheme to raise prices that Thailand was due to begin drafting this week. But wariness over the bleak outlook for the automobile industry prompted players to take profits on recent gains.
* Tokyo’s key rubber futures contract hit a six-year low below 100 yen on Dec. 5 on growing concern about demand for the commodity needed to make tyres.
* Tyres account for about 70 percent of rubber consumption.
* TOCOM rubber has fallen more than 60 percent from the year’s peak of 356.9 yen marked at the end of June, as global automakers cut output due to the deepening economic slump.
* The world’s top three rubber producers, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, agreed not to sell rubber at below $1.35 per kg at a meeting earlier this month held to discuss measures to help prop up prices.
* Members of the International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), which together produce about 70 percent of all natural rubber, also agreed to cut exports by 915,000 tonnes in 2009.
* U.S. crude settled at $35.35, down $3.63 or 9.3 percent, on Wednesday as another batch of gloomy data showed the U.S. economy has fallen deeper into recession. [O/R]
* The dollar held steady against the yen, up 0.1 percent at 90.50 yen , recovering some of its losses made after dismal U.S. data on Wednesday. But the U.S. currency hovered not far from a 13-year low near 87 yen hit earlier this month. [FRX/]
* Activity was expected to be slow for the most part due to the approach of the year-end. TOCOM will close on Dec 30, when it ends trade at noon.
* Asian physical rubber prices were mostly steady, drawing support from expectations for the Thai government’s price-support scheme and for poor weather conditions in key producing countries.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.40/kg unchanged
Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.40/kg unchanged
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.38/kg unchanged
Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.38/kg unchanged
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.35/kg unavailable
Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.35/kg unavailable
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.61/lb unavailable
Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.61/lb unavailable
Thai USS3 40 baht/kg unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,150/tonne +$50
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $1,000/tonne +$20

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell 6.5 percent on Wednesday, pressured by slumping demand and weak crude oil prices, with the key contract dipping below 130 yen.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery <0#JRU:> closed the session at 129.3 yen per kg, down 9 yen or 6.5 percent.
* Top rubber producing countries moved this month to try to halt the slide in physical rubber prices, and this is so far proving effective, a Tokyo-based trader said.
* “Word that producing countries won’t sell rubber below $1.35 has helped lift prices,” he said.
* Asian physical rubber prices edged higher, as market sentiment was underpinned by expectations the Thai government will soon launch a scheme to support rubber prices which are currently near five-year lows.
* The world’s top three rubber producers, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, agreed not to sell rubber at below $1.35 per kg at a meeting earlier this month held to discuss measures to help prop up prices.
* Members of the International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), which together produce about 70 percent of all natural rubber, also agreed to cut exports by 915,000 tonnes in 2009.
* Separately, the new government in Thailand, the top rubber producer, last week promised to intervene in the domestic rubber market to help support prices.
* Although some traders believe the market has hit bottom, others say TOCOM rubber was still vulnerable to downward pressure depending on moves in currency and other markets.
* Activity was expected to be slow for the most part due to the approach of the year-end. TOCOM will close on Dec 30, when it ends trade at noon.
* TOCOM rubber has fallen more than 60 percent from the year’s peak of 356.9 yen marked at the end of June, battered by falling demand as global automakers reduce production due to the deepening economic slump.
* Tyres account for about 70 percent of rubber consumption.
* U.S. crude futures rose back above $39 a barrel on Wednesday, paring a 2.3 percent decline a day earlier, aided by a weaker dollar and talk of a possible emergency OPEC meeting should prices continue their descent. [O/R]
* The dollar fell 0.7 percent from late U.S. trade to 90.30 yen , giving back gains made on Tuesday. The Japanese currency staged a sharp rally to a 13-year peak near 87 yen earlier this month. [FRX/]
PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH MONDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.40/kg +$0.05
Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.40/kg +$0.05
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.38/kg +$0.03
Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.38/kg +$0.03
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.35/kg +$0.05
Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.35/kg +$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.61/lb +$0.02
Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.61/lb +$0.02
Thai USS3 40 baht/kg unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,100/tonne +$30
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $980/tonne +$30

Source:  Reuters

[Dow Jones] Asian cash rubber prices rise but trading very light due to closure of bellwether Tocom for public holiday in Japan, traders say. Sicom, SHFE both rangebound, provide little in way of direction, says trader in Singapore. Adds raw material availability now very tight as producers continue holding back stock to try and bolster market following recent price collapse. “Processors are now having big problems securing materials. As well as the hoarding that”s going on (among producers), prices have fallen to levels where its not viable and farmers have been forced to lay off tappers, which is adding to the situation,” trader says. However, consumption remains low due to slowing physical demand, meaning gains may be short-lived.

Source:  Dow Jones

TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures rose 8 percent to a one-month high approaching 140 yen on Monday, lifted by firm oil prices as the market waited for details of a scheme to raise prices that Thailand was due to begin drafting this week.

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery <0#JRU:>, which debuted on Monday, hit an intraday high of 138.5 yen per kg, the highest since Nov. 25.

* It closed at 138.3 yen, up 8 percent from the opening price of 128.0 yen.

* A Tokyo-based trader said he believes the market bottomed out when it briefly breached 100 yen in early December, although he did not believe this would lead to a quick bounce back towards the 200-yen level.

* “I think 180-yen will be the next line of resistance … but that is likely to happen next year,” he said.

* The market is expected to waver around current levels with the approach of the end of the year.

* The cabinet in Thailand, the world’s biggest rubber producer, is due this week to work on drafting a new rubber-buying scheme in a bid to shore up domestic prices that are near five-year lows. [ID:nBKK390644]

* The news has been one of the factors to help lift physical rubber prices recently, Asian traders said.

* “If the (Thai) government fails to do that, the market will drop back,” one Thai trader said.

* Rubber has been under pressure as the global economic crisis erodes global car production, with a Japanese tyremaker industry group saying last week that it expects tyre production to fall 5 percent next year in terms of rubber usage.

* Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world’s biggest automaker, on Monday forecast its first ever group operating loss in the latest news to show the magnitude of the problem faced by the industry as global sales tumbles. [ID:nT299128]

* Rubber’s fate is closely linked with the production of tyres as about 70 percent of world demand for the commodity stems from tyres.

* The U.S. government threw a $17.4 billion lifeline on Friday to Detroit carmakers crippled by the economic recession. [ID:nPEK94492]

* U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose on Monday at one point topping $43 a barrel, lifted by a weaker U.S. dollar and hopes that OPEC members will comply with the latest supply cuts, but gains were limited by concerns about a slowdown in energy demand. [O/R]

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH FRIDAY

Grade Price Change

Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.35/kg +$0.05

Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.35/kg +$0.05

Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.35/kg +$0.15

Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.35/kg +$0.15

Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.30/kg +$0.13

Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.30/kg +$0.13

Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.59/lb +$0.04

Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.59/lb +$0.04

Thai USS3 40 baht/kg +2 bahts

Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,070/tonne +$70

Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $950/tonne +$50

Source:  Reuters

[Dow Jones] Asian cash rubber prices rise though very few trades reported as supply remains very thin, traders say. Producers now holding back stock following recent news that Thai government would move to mop up surplus supply to try and bolster prices, says trader in Singapore. Adds “no one knows at what level, or even if, (the Thai government) will really intervene in the market but the talk alone is giving a lift, as producers are holding back as much as possible.” Gains on futures, news that a loan package has been agreed for U.S. automakers, steady crude oil prices other supportive factors, though longer-term demand worries persist, may cap upside, trader says.

Source:  Dow Jones