[Dow Jones] Asian physical rubber prices mixed, tight supply continues to drive prices up in Thailand. Thai exporter offering STR20 at $3,320/ton-$3,330/ton, FOB, March/April shipment. RSS3 offered at $3,300/ton, FOB, March shipment. Wintering season in Thailand prompting surge in offer prices. Trading quiet in Thailand this week as major Chinese customers on holiday, so some factories not putting forth firm offers. However, late yesterday, Thai rubber factory sold 300 tonnes of RSS3 for $3,250/ton, FOB, May shipment to Thai tire maker. “They”re buying at these prices because they are worried that prices will continue to go up,” says executive at factory; adds there are fears El Nino weather event will contribute to less rubber supply this year. Indonesia SIR20 changed hands at $3,150/ton, FOB, April shipment; $3,140/ton, FOB, May shipment. Malaysian SMR20 traded at $3,170/ton, FOB, April shipment. For breakdown of cash prices of all rubber grades, keyword search ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER. (HLN)

Source: Dow Jones

SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures ended
lower on Thursday as a drop in oil prices spurred selling but the
physical market was mostly steady because of tight supplies.
* The most active July 2010 contract on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange settled 2.3 yen a kg lower at 295.8 yen. It
had risen to a near 1-month high of 298.5 yen per kg on
Wednesday, not far from a 16-month high of 306 yen hit in the
middle of January.
* Key support was pegged at the 25-day moving average around
285 yen.
* The physical market defied weakness in Tokyo futures, with
Thai RSS3 grade rising by a few U.S. cents on lower expected
supply as the flow of latex slows down during the dry wintering
season in the world’s largest producer.
* “We’ve seen a slight correction on TOCOM and I guess
players are also waiting for the Chinese market to open next
Monday,” said a dealer in Thailand, referring to the Shanghai
rubber futures market, closed for the Lunar New Year this week,
which often influence the Japanese market.
* “I guess TOCOM will still move in a small range tomorrow.
The physical market has refused to come down because of the
wintering,” he added.
* Oil fell below $77 a barrel on Thursday, dragged down by a
stronger dollar and weaker gold prices, which dampened other
commodities and outweighed upbeat news on the U.S. economy. [O/R]
* The dollar pared some of the previous day’s gains against
the yen, easing 0.3 percent to 90.97 yen from Wednesday
when it rose as far as 91.39 yen on trading platform EBS, its
highest since Jan. 21, helped by the upbeat U.S. data. [USD/]
* Japan’s crude rubber inventories totalled 7,288 tonnes on
Jan. 31, up 6 percent from Jan. 20, data from the Rubber Trade
Association of Japan showed on Wednesday. [ID:nTOE61G05A]
* For details on physical prices, click on [ID:nSGE61H081]

Source: Reuters

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Rubber advanced to the highest level in almost four weeks as a rally in oil and a drop in the Japanese currency raised the appeal of yen-based contracts for the commodity used in tires.

Futures in Tokyo rose as much as 4 percent to the highest level since Jan. 22. Oil climbed the most in more than four months yesterday, boosting the cost of making rival synthetic rubber, as the dollar’s drop against the euro made the commodity more attractive as an alternative asset.

The market rallied after Greece’s finance minister said yesterday his nation won’t need a European Union bailout, sparking gains in global shares and reducing demand for the Japanese currency as a refuge. Greece’s tax collectors called off a strike, easing concerns that unions may block spending cuts aimed at shrinking the EU’s biggest budget deficit.

“Rubber chased a rally in oil and metals as concern about Greece’s debt problem eased, spurring investors to buy risk assets,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research and investment company JSC Corp. in Tokyo, said today by phone.

Rubber for July delivery, the most-active contract, rose as much as 11.6 yen to 298.5 yen per kilogram ($3,305 a metric ton) before settling at 298.1 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Crude oil for March delivery traded at $77.08 a barrel, 7 cents higher, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:28 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 3.9 percent to $77.01, the biggest percentage gain since Sept. 30.

Currency Moves

The rally in oil “spills over to the rubber market,” Pornthip Wongjirattikarn, marketing manager at Future Agri Trade Co., said by phone from Bangkok. A weakening yen also boosts demand for the commodity, Pornthip said.

The yen traded at 90.28 per dollar at 3:08 p.m. Singapore time from 90.14 in New York yesterday. The euro traded at $1.3741 from $1.3770 yesterday, when it reached $1.3779, the highest since Feb. 11.

Greece’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said after a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels that “there’s no actual need for a bailout.” The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index of 19 raw materials climbed to the highest level since Jan. 26.

Rubber also gained as output in Thailand, the world’s largest exporter, is set to decline, Shigemoto said. During wintering, or the low-production season that normally begins in the nation’s main growing areas in February, trees shed their leaves and latex output slows.

In the cash market, Thai shippers have raised offers for so-called RSS-3 grade rubber for April shipment to about $3.08 a kilogram from $3 on Feb. 12, Shigemoto said.

“Supplies are quite thin these days as traders set aside some stocks for the dry period in March and April,” Future Agri’s Pornthip said.

The price of unsmoked sheets gained 2 percent to 98.38 baht ($2.97) per kilogram. Ribbed smoked sheets advanced 2.5 percent to 102.55 baht a kilogram, the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand said on its Web site today.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed this week for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Source: Bloomberg

[Dow Jones] Physical prices of Thai USS3 rubber rise to THB98.36-THB98.38/kg vs THB96.48-THB96.67/kg yesterday as supplies remain tight with rubber-growing areas entering wintering season. Less than 100 tons USS3 changed hands at central markets for seventh successive day. Outside central market, factories paying around THB99.5/kg. “There is very little raw material available now, as wintering has started in the south of Thailand,” says Bangkok-based rubber industry official; adds prices may breach TH100/kg going forward as supplies continue to dwindle. Total quantity sold in three central markets of Thailand estimated at 95.6 tons vs 91 tons yesterday: 38.6 tons in Hat Yai, 30 tons in Surat Thani, 27 tons in Chandee. (HLN)

Source: Dow Jones

SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures rose
almost 4 percent on Wednesday as oil extended gains and the dry
wintering season curbed supply in Thailand and Indonesia.
* The most active July 2010 contract on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange hit an intraday high of 298.5 yen per kg, its
strongest since Jan. 22, before settling 11.2 yen higher at
298.1 yen.
* The contract was about 2.6 percent below a 16-month high
of 306 yen hit in the middle of January. A weaker yen against
the dollar also pushed up Tokyo futures.
* “I think rubber follows strong sentiments in other
commodities, such as oil,” said a dealer in Thailand’s southern
city of Hat Yai. “We may revisit last month’s high of 306 yen
but it has to test 300 yen first,” said the dealer, referring to
a level last seen in late January.
* Activity in the physical market began to pick up after the
Lunar New Year but many buyers in top consumer China were still
on holiday. Indonesia’s tyre grade SIR20 was sold late on
Tuesday at 142 U.S. cents per pound for April shipment.
* The wintering season, during which the flow of latex will
decrease, has started in Thailand and Indonesia.
* Oil rose above $77 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by the
weaker dollar and rally in equities markets, as optimism over
the global economy stoked hopes for higher fuel demand. [O/R]
* The dollar rose to 90.36 yen , up 0.2 percent from
late U.S. trade on Tuesday when it climbed as far as 90.52 on
trading platform EBS, its highest since Feb. 4. [USD/]
* For details on physical prices, click on [ID:nSGE61702T]

Source: Reuters