Tokyo futures rose on Wednesday, backed by robust demand from Chinese tyre makers and uncertainty about supplies in Southeast Asia, traders said.
"Sentiment is quite strong, demand is good and on the supply side, supply in Thailand seems to be unusual," a Japanese dealer said. The most distant October TOCOM rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the global trend settler for rubber, was up 7.8 yen per kg at 299.6 yen.
"Because of rain, supply in Thailand has not picked up yet, as demand is still there," another Japanese dealer said. "In the current situation, there is a possibility for the price to break 300," he said referring to the October contract.
"Players are in no rush to sell because everybody knows that the market is very strong." In the physical market, fundamentals remain unchanged. Unusually wet weather in Thailand and Malaysia has kept supplies tight since last week.
In Indonesia, the wintering dry season was expected to continue until the end of the month. Rubber prices in the three producing countries rallied across the board, tracking TOCOM's gain. Thai benchmark RSS3 rubber sheet for July shipment was up $0.04-0.5 at $2.64-2.65 a kg, free-on-board.
Offers for tyre-grade Standard Thai Rubber, or STR20 block, for July shipment were up another $0.05 at $2.40 a kg.
Thai 60-percent concentrated latex traded at $1,800 a tonne, FOB in drums and $1,700 in bulk.
Sellers offered Indonesia's SIR20 block rubber at 103 US cents a pound ($2.27 a kg), FOB, Plumbing, Begawan and Surabaya for August shipment, but no deals were done.
Indonesia's SIR20 was traded overnight at 101.50 US cents a pound FOB Begawan for August shipment. Malaysian tyre-grade SMR20 was up $0.06 at $2.36 a kg FOB for July shipment. SMR20 was last traded at $2.33 a kg FOB for July shipment overnight to a dealer in Europe.