Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) — Rubber climbed to the highest since November, gaining for a third day, as crude oil advanced amid renewed optimism that a global economic recovery will increase demand for the commodity used to make tires.

Futures advanced as much as 2.3 percent as crude rose to a one-month high, boosting natural rubber’s appeal against its synthetic rival. Nouriel Roubini, an economist who predicted the financial crisis, said today that commodities may extend gains next year as the global recession abated.

“Rubber was following crude oil,” which rose as the dollar fell, said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at Okachi & Co., said. Rubber’s price gains were also supported by speculation that demand from automakers may increase as domestic rubber stockpiles dropped, Shigemoto said.

January-delivery rubber rose 0.4 percent to close at 196.3 yen a kilogram ($2,073 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange after gaining as much as 4.4 yen to 199.9 yen, the highest since Nov. 5. The most-active contract has risen 44 percent this year.

Crude for September rose 1.1 percent to $70.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract has gained 58 percent this year.

There would be “further increases in commodity prices, especially next year,” said Roubini, an economist New York University who’s also chairman of Roubini Global Economics. China will meet its target of 8 percent growth in gross domestic product this year, Roubini said.

China’s Manufacturers

Manufacturing in China climbed for a fifth month in July, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said today in an e-mailed statement. The CLSA China Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.8, the highest level in a year, from 51.8 in June.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the euro, was at 78.414 at 3:59 p.m. in Singapore from 78.347 on July 31. It earlier touched 78.049, the lowest since Dec. 18.

The U.S. recession may be ending, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday. The U.S. economy contracted at a better-than-forecast 1 percent annual pace in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported July 31.

Rubber shippers in Thailand increased offers today for the RSS-3 grade for September shipment to $1.98 a kilogram from $1.87 a week earlier, said Okachi’s Shigemoto.

Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active contract, advanced 1.6 percent to close at 18,855 yuan ($2,760) a ton.

Source: Bloomberg

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