Rubber advances following a drop in prices to a one-week low and crude oil near the highest level since September boosted the appeal of the commodity used in tyres.
Rubber for delivery in June rose to as much as 1.4% to 308.3 yen a kg (US$3,485 per mt) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before trading at 304.3 yen. “The market is just rebounding after dropping on increasing stockpiles in China, the biggest consumer,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo.
In America, synthetic rubber, which is made using crude oil, traded at the highest level in four months in New York. Crude oil for February delivery was down 0.2% at US$94.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after advancing 1% to end at US$94.24 recently, the highest close since Sept. 18.
In Thailand, the Thai rubber FOB dropped for a third day, falling 2% to 99.20 baht (US$3.32) a kg, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. (RJA)
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