Thai rubber futures ended mixed on Friday as most contracts ended lower on profit taking while deferred contracts rose due to speculative buying, brokers said.
Overall volume roses as 100 contracts of ribbed smoked sheet number three (RSS3) were traded compared to 48 contracts on Thursday. The most active April contract settled at 52.1 baht per kg, up from 52.0 baht, with the number of contracts traded rising to 51 from Thursday's 24.
"Speculators bought the April contract as they thought that the price had found its support at 52.0 baht and would rebound in the coming week," said one broker.
But most contracts ended lower on profit taking in line with Tokyo Commodities Exchange, which dropped due to the strong yen with the dollar at around 107.53, near a four-month low, due to worries about the US economy.
The March contract finished at 51.7 baht per kg, down from 52.0 baht with six contracts traded. No March contract was traded on Thursday. The December contract was also active. It ended at 51.7 baht per kg, down from 51.8 baht, with the number of contracts traded rising to 25 from 20.
"Prices dropped, tracking TOCOM's trend and due to profit taking," said one broker. Unsmoked sheet number three (USS3), the raw material for export-rubber sheet was quoted in Thailand's physical market at 47.47 baht per kg, up slightly from 47.43 baht.
On Thailand's Hat Yai physical market, RSS3 was at 48.92 baht per kg, down from 49.10 baht. On Singapore's SICOM, the RSS3 December contract was steady at $1.26 per kg.
Thailand, the world's biggest natural rubber producer and exporter, launched its first commodity futures exchange in May, allowing brokers to trade in RSS3.
November, December, January, February, March and April contracts were offered. Each contract is for five tonnes. Trading hours are 10:30 am to 12.00 noon (0330-0500 GMT), but are to be extended to between 13:30 pm and 15:00 pm (0630 and 0800 GMT) on November 8.
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