Japan rubber stocks fall

Crude rubber stocks held at private Japanese warehouses fell to 7,500 tonnes as of October 31, the lowest since August 10 when they dropped to a record low of 7,106 tonnes, an industry body said on Wednesday.
The stocks on October 31 were down 1.8 percent from 7,637 tonnes on October 20 when the previous data was taken. The stocks fell for the fourth time in a row, the data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed.
Domestic crude rubber stocks have been stuck at a low level since around May after end-users, including tyre makers, tapped domestic warehouses to cover their needs due to tight supplies from top producer Thailand.
Drought and violence in key rubber producing areas have been the main reason behind the delay in supplies from Thailand, but there have been signs the market would receive more supplies from the country, depressing prices.