Tokyo rubber futures ended mixed on Tuesday as many players stayed on the sidelines, but physical prices remained steady with some small deals done, dealers said.
The benchmark January 2007 contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, which sets trends global rubber prices, ended 0.4 yen per kg lower at 277.0 yen per kg after trading between 276.1 yen and 280.6 yen.
"The market is quite neutral at the moment. I expect the market to still move in a tight range tomorrow," a Japanese dealer said. Japanese dealers said they expected the market to move between 270 yen and 280 yen on Wednesday. "But if it could break 280 yen, the next resistance level would be at around 283-285 yen," one said. On Tuesday, Thai benchmark RSS3 rubber sheet for September shipment was offered steady at $2.35 a kg, free-on-board, while overseas buyers were bidding at $2.20-2.30.
Offers for tyre-grade Standard Thai Rubber, or STR20 block, for August shipment were also unchanged at $2.35 a kg. Thai 60-percent concentrated latex was offered at $1,500 a tonne, free-on-board, in drums for September shipment. It was at $1,400 a tonne, free-on-board, in bulk.
Indonesia's tyre grade SIR20 was at $2.25 a kg, free-on-board for September shipment. Malaysian tyre-grade SMR20 was at $2.35. In the physical market, overseas buyers were seeking to buy for August and September shipment. "Overseas buyers are enquiring. They're asking for firm quotes now," one dealer said. "Chinese buyers keep on buying, but in a small quantity at only three to five hundred each," another dealer said.
Exporters in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia said they were offering forward contracts only through to shipment in October. Traders said some small deals had been done since late Monday with Malaysian 60-percent concentrated latex was overnight at $1,550 a tonne, free-on-board, in drums, Penang.
Malaysian tyre-grade SMR20 was traded on Tuesday at $2.35 a kg, free-on-board and Indonesian tyre-grade SIR20 was sold at $2.25 a kg, free-on-board, for September shipment.
Thai benchmark unsmoked rubber sheet grade 3, or USS3, the raw material for export-grade rubber, has risen 8 percent in value to 79 baht a kg ($2.09) since Friday.
The price of natural field latex, the raw material for Thai 60-percent concentrated latex, has risen 17 percent to 68 baht on Tuesday from Friday's 58 baht. "The price has gone up so much. This is because of the weather and there is a drop in production," a Thai dealer said. "Our west coast side is still being affected by heavy rain. I've had four days of no latex," said a dealer from the southern province of Phang Nga.