BANGKOK, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures jumped 8.4
percent to end at a one-week high on Monday, reversing early
losses as rebounding oil prices spurred short-covering by
investment funds.
But the main contract failed to stay above the key
psychological level of 120 yen as gains were capped by demand
worries amid bad news in U.S. auto industry, dealers said.
Some said the rise was a technical correction and that rubber
prices would fall again because of the situation in the car
sector.
* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JRU:> rose 9.1 yen, or 8.4 percent, to settle at
117.7 yen ($1.26) per kg. It had risen as high as 121.4 yen per
kg, the highest since Dec. 1.
* Oil rose 6 percent to over $43 on Monday, reversing part of
last week’s near-record decline as Asian stock markets rose and
Saudi Arabia cut January oil supplies a bit more deeply for a few
Asian refiners.
* White House and congressional negotiators sought on Sunday
to resolve remaining differences over an emergency rescue for the
struggling auto industry, a stark symbol of the deepening U.S.
economic crisis. [ID:nN07462460]
* Global sales at the world’s top premium car makers, BMW and
Mercedes, plunged by a quarter in November and Honda backed out
of Formula One racing as the economic downturn exacted a
mounting toll on car makers. [ID:nL563310]
* The International Rubber Consortium, which groups top
producers Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, is due to meet on
Dec. 11 in Indonesia, but physical rubber traders were sceptical
the meeting would come up with much to support prices.
* In the physical market, rubber prices fell despite the rise
on TOCOM, as demand remained thin, traders said.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH THURSDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.15/kg -$0.10
Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.15/kg -$0.10
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.12/kg -$0.13
Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.12/kg -$0.13
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.12/kg -$0.13
Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.12/kg -$0.13
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.50/lb -$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.50/lb -$0.05
Thai USS3 35 baht/kg -2 baht
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,000/tonne unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $900/tonne unchanged
($1=35.63 baht)
($1=93.18 Yen)

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Tokyo’s key rubber futures contract ended higher on bargain-hunting after hitting a six-year low below 100 yen on Friday on poor auto sales figures this week that fanned fears of falling tyre demand.

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery <0#JRU:> briefly touched an intraday low of 99.8 yen per kg, down 7.8 percent and the lowest for a lead contract since August 2002. It later bounced back to close up 0.3 yen at 108.6 yen.

* A Tokyo-based broker said the market had probably not hit bottom yet, noting the steep economic downturn which has eroded car sales in major global markets.

“I think the business environment is even worse than we had imagined it to be,” he said. “It’s all about the auto industry.”

* Data released this week showed that auto sales in November plunged in a number of leading markets including Japan and the United States. Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s largest, say they will reduce output.

* The CEOs of General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chrysler LLC said they would consider restarting talks about a merger during a nearly six-hour congressional grilling on the industry’s pleas for $34 billion in government aid. [ID:nN04392913]

* U.S. oil futures CLc1 were a touch softer after settling down $3.12 at $43.67 the previous session, in the lowest settlement since January 2005, after more bleak economic data that could point to a deeper decline in global energy demand. [O/R]

* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1 percent in the week ended Thursday, the exchange said on Friday. [ID:nBJD000468]

* The International Rubber Consortium, which groups top producers Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, will meet on Dec. 11 in Indonesia, but many physical traders were sceptical about whether the meeting would produce steps to prop up prices.

Source:  Reuters

Tocom rubber futures settle sharply lower as weak crude oil prices, bearish demand outlook continue to drag sentiment lower. Breach today of recent Y110/kg psychological support further underscores bearish tone; next downside target Y100/kg. “I”m bearish on rubber until at least the end of this year, and probably beyond; technical charts are pointing south…car sales continue to slump, and crude oil below $50 bbl is certainly not good news for the natural rubber market,” says Mitsubishi Corporation Futures analyst Shuji Sugata. Benchmark May RSS3 contract settles Y9.3 lower at Y108.3/kg. (ANJ)

Source:  Dow Jones Newswires

TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Asian physical rubber prices were little changed on Thursday as buyers kept to the sidelines ahead of a meeting of the world’s top rubber-producing countries next week, aimed at finding ways to support prices.

The International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), which groups Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, whose members account for 70 percent of global rubber output, is set to meet on Dec. 11 in Bogor, Indonesia.

The meeting, originally slated to be held in Bangkok, was rescheduled after anti-government protests closed Thai airports.

Although production in Thailand, the No.1 producer, is lower than normal due to recent rains having curbed tapping, buyers refrained from active purchases, hoping that weak global demand will result in a further fall in prices, traders said.

“This time last year, buying for late December to early January shipments was quite active. But this year was exactly opposite,” a trader in Thailand said.

In Thailand, financial markets are closed on Friday for a national holiday.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY

Grade Price Change

Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.25/kg unchanged

Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.25/kg unchanged

Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.25/kg unchanged

Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.25/kg unchanged

Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.25/kg unchanged

Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.25/kg unchanged

Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.55/lb unchanged

Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.55/lb unchanged

Thai USS3 37 baht/kg unchanged

Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,000/tonne -$120

Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $900/tonne -$100

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures closed mostly firmer on Wednesday, supported by higher oil and stock prices improving investor sentiment, although the key contract briefly slipped to a five-year low as falling demand weighed on the industrial commodity used for tyres.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery <0#JRU:> closed at 117.6 yen per kg, up 1 yen or 0.9 percent, after earlier hitting a trough of 113.3 yen, the lowest for any benchmark since July 2003.
* The market is grappling for a level at which it can stabilise, an analyst said.
* “The magnitude of the current financial crisis is such that none of us have faced, and it’s difficult for us to tell where the bottom is,” he said.
* He said some believe that the market will bounce back once the near-term contract breaches 100 yen. The front-month December contract closed at 107 yen after falling as low as 105.2.
* U.S. crude rose above $47 a barrel on Wednesday in a correction after falling more than $2 the previous day, driven lower by the gloomy economic outlook and news that OPEC had not fully complied with its pledged output cuts in November. [O/R]
* Japan’s Nikkei share average <.N225> rose 1.8 percent, buoyed by a jump in retailer Seven & I Holdings <3382.T> after a brokerage upgrade, though automakers weighed on the market in the face of a sharp drop in U.S. car sales. [.T]
* General Motors Corp warned the U.S. government on Tuesday that it needs a $4 billion loan by the end of December or it faces the risk of immediate failure. [ID:nN02272562]
* The global economic slowdown has forced production cuts at automakers including at Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, the world’s largest, leading to concerns about demand for rubber. * The world’s top rubber-producing countries are due to meet next week in Indonesia to discuss ways to support prices. [ID:nBKK372175]
* But traders were sceptical of the results. “Only talking will not help the market,” a Thai-based trader said. Specific action must be taken to help prop up prices, he said.
* Concerns about the economy have also slowed trading in the physical market.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH TUESDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Thai RSS3 (Feb) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Thai STR20 (Feb) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Malaysia SMR20 (Feb) $1.25/kg -$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.55/lb -$0.04
Indonesia SIR20 (Feb) $0.55/lb -$0.04
Thai USS3 37 baht/kg -3 bahts
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Jan) $1,120/tonne unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Jan) $1,000/tonne unchanged

Source:  Reuters