SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures ticked up on Wednesday, buoyed by a weakening yen and off-season supply concerns, though looming US tariffs curbed gains.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for August delivery closed up 1.2 yen, or 0.34%, at 355.8 yen ($2.4) per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for May delivery fell 230 yuan, or 1.34%, to 16,905 yuan ($2,327) per metric ton.
The most active May butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE slipped 140 yuan, or 1.03%, to 13,485 yuan ($1,856) per ton. The dollar floated to 150.55 yen in the Asia session after briefly crossing below 150 yen.
A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. Thailand’s meteorological agency warned of potential crop damage, with outbreaks of summer storms possible from March 29 to April 1.
Production areas in Vietnam and Thailand have still suspended harvesting, broker Hexun Futures said. Rubber crops usually undergo a season of low production from February to May, before a peak harvesting period that lasts until September. In top consumer China, semi-steel tire companies who had reduced their loads resumed normal levels of production this week, driving an increase in capacity utilisation rates, Hexun said in a separate note.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday automobile tariffs are coming soon, even as he indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2.
Automobile sales could influence the intensity of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for April delivery last traded at 195.4 US cents per kg, down 1.6%.
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