By Aya Takada
April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber, little changed, may rise as tight supply in Thailand, the world’s largest exporter, drove the nearest-dated contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange to a record.
September-delivery rubber, the most-active contract, gained as much as 0.5 percent. The April-delivery contract, which expires today, jumped as much as 4.9 percent to 472 yen, the highest-ever price for a nearby contract.
“A seasonal decrease in supply from Thailand gives support to futures,” Hisaaki Tasaka, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker ACE Koeki Co., said today. “The market may remain buoyant until Thai shipments start picking up as early as June.”
September-delivery rubber has fallen 4.9 percent this week and was little changed at 318.1 yen per kilogram ($3,407 a metric ton) at 12:36 p.m. in Tokyo. The price earlier dropped as much as 0.7 percent and is headed for the biggest decline since the week ended Jan. 29.
Gains were limited as a stronger dollar sapped demand for commodities as alternative investments, Tasaka said.
The dollar climbed to near the highest in a year against the euro on concern Greece’s larger-than-estimated debt will prompt the nation to take a bailout, damping demand for the region’s assets. The European Union lifted its estimate for Greece’s deficit and Moody’s Investors Service cut the nation’s debt rating.
April-delivery rubber was unchanged at 450 yen by 12:37 p.m. local time after rising to a record at 472 yen. Speculators with short positions in April futures have to buy back the contract today or the raw material will be delivered.
Exchange Probe
The price of the April contract surged 37 percent this month. The Tokyo exchange checked its members’ positions in rubber futures after volatility jumped this week, Kazunari Hayakawa, executive managing officer for the exchange, said in an interview yesterday.
Thailand is in the wintering season from February to April, when rubber trees shed their leaves and latex output slows, diminishing supplies of the commodity used in tires.
Supply from the country is expected to increase as it nears the end of a low-production season, according to Navarat Kaewpratarn, senior marketing official at Future Agri Trade Co.
The free-on-board price, excluding freight and insurance, of Thai RSS-3 grade rubber for May delivery was at a record 128.05 baht ($3.98) per kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Institute of Thailand.
September-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.6 percent to 24,410 yuan ($3,576) a ton at the 11:30 a.m. local time break.
(businessweek.com)
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