Rubber Futures at Tokyo Commodity Exchange Climbed

Commodity rubber futures at TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) climbed down as weak crude oil prices and waning euphoria over impact of stimulus measures in Japan and USA put downward pressure on markets.

Rubber producing majors such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have taken measures for stabilizing rubber prices through export cuts, production cuts. Thailand government has approved an additional 30 bn baht ($947.34 mn) for market intervention programmes.

At India’s National Multi Commodity Exchange, Rubber October contract ahs key support at Rs 18300,18000 levels while resistance is seen at Rs 193, 195 levels. Rubber remains sideways to bullish for the short term but weakness in automobile industry and GDP growth at 5.5% levels will impact demand for the commodity, according to Sreekumar Raghavan, Chief Commodity Strategist at Commodity Online Group. In the global market, fundamentals continue to be supportive of rubber prices. Rubber supplies is estimated to have increased by 4.7% to 10.83 mn tonnes while consumption has risen 4.8% to 11.59 mn tonnes, according to Kamarul Baharain Basir, Secretary General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).

In India the world’s fourth biggest natural rubber producer India’s imports advanced sharply by 21% year-on-year to 95,047 tons in the first five months of the 2012-2013 fiscal year while its exports dropped significantly by 53% year-on-year to 6,230 tons, as per latest data released by the Rubber Board.

According to the data, country imported 78,423 tons of natural rubber in the first five months of 2011-12 fiscal while its exported 13,298 tons of natural rubber. Spot rubber prices monitored by Rubber Board of India had risen to Rs 195 per kg this week and retraced to Rs 193 per kg levels on Wednesday.