SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell on Monday, snapping a nine-day winning streak, weighed down by bleak economic data from top consumer China and lower synthetic rubber prices.
The rubber contract on the Osaka Exchange (OSE) for February delivery closed down 10 yen, or 2.66%, at 365.6 yen ($2.50) per kg. The January rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 280 yuan, or 1.68%, to 16,360 yuan ($2,302.44) per metric ton.
While the supply-demand fundamental for natural rubber remains favourable as unusually heavier rains are posing challenges to harvesting in Thailand, market sentiment is partly clouded by disappointing Chinese manufacturing data, a significant fall in crude oil prices and a sharp downtrend in butadiene prices, said Jom Jacob, chief analyst at Indian analysis firm What Next Rubber.