Some Chinese buyers have turned their backs on Indonesian rubber after prices surged more than 10 percent in the past month on tight supplies and gains in Tokyo futures, dealers said on Wednesday. But purchases from Europe and the United States could fill the demand gap during China's absence, said dealers.
Adding that a few cargoes of Indonesia's SIR20 had also been sold to dealers in Singapore at $2.50 a kg for forward shipments. "China is buying but not SIR20 as the price is very close on FOB basis to STR20, SMR20 and even RSS3. As such, they would rather take the other grades," said a dealer in Singapore.
SIR20 is usually the cheapest grade in Southeast Asia but the dry wintering season has curbed supply and pushed up prices, while China chases Thai and Malaysian grades to replenish domestic stocks. China was looking to buy Malaysia's SMR20 at $2,540 a tonne including cost and freight for prompt shipment. Dealers saw inquiries for Thai RSS3 and STR20 grades but there were no details on deals.
China, the world's largest rubber consumer, has been a bright spot for the global auto market this year, thanks to a raft of government incentives, including aggressive cuts in sales taxes on small cars, which are slated to expire by the end of the year. Passenger car sales in October surged 75.8 percent from a year earlier, official data showed, extending the strong growth in recent months. China buys rubber mainly from the world's main producers Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
"At one time, SIR20 fetched a big discount to the Thai and Malaysian grades but it's almost in line now. I would think if China won't buy at the current level, others will do," said another dealer in Singapore, who trades the Indonesian grade. "Indonesia is not in a hurry to sell to the Chinese buyers because supply is very tight, the price of raw material is very high and the rupiah is strong," he added.
The dry wintering season was underway in Indonesia's main growing island of Sumatra, while heavy rains curbed the flow of latex in Thailand and Malaysia, helping to send the most active rubber contract on Tokyo Commodity Exchange to a 13-month high. Japan's largest tyre maker, Bridgestone Corp, purchased some quantity of RSS3 at $2.55 a kg for March shipment in a deal struck late on Tuesday, when SIR20 was also traded at 113.50 to 113.75 US cents per pound for January shipment.
Despite overnight deals for SIR20, some dealers in Indonesia were nervous about a lack of interest from China, which imported 31,982 tonnes of natural rubber from Indonesia in September, down 15.32 percent from the same month last year. "China is still lethargic. It hasn't bought anything yet. I just don't know when they will return," said a dealer in Sumatra.
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