Rubber advanced for a third day to a five-month high after data showed China’s manufacturing grew at a faster pace and the U.S. economy expanded, spurring investor purchases of the commodity used in tires.
The most-active contract gained as much as 1.9 percent to 317.3 yen per kilogram ($3,806 a metric ton), the highest level since April 26, before settling at 315.8 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Rubber extended gains after jumping 16 percent last quarter, the best performance since the three months ended Dec. 31.
China’s manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in four months in September, adding to signs that economic growth is stabilizing even as the government curbs energy use and tries to cool the property market. U.S. government data showed yesterday the nation’s economy grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter, faster than the 1.6 percent previously estimated.
“A pessimistic view about the global economy has waned,” Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures Ltd. in Tokyo, said today by phone. “Rubber may continue an upward trend, in tandem with other industrial materials, amid expectations for sustained growth.”
China’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.8 from 51.7 in August, the country’s logistics federation and statistics bureau said in an e-mail today. The median forecast of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was 52.5. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
Auto Sales
Today’s data add to a manufacturing survey released Sept. 29 that also showed an acceleration, suggesting China’s economic momentum may counter weakness in the global recovery. The nation’s growth may be aided in coming months by government plans to speed the completion of stimulus projects and boost public housing construction.
U.S. auto sales in September may have been the fastest since March as consumers returned to showrooms, helping the industry’s recovery from the worst year in almost three decades, a survey showed.
Industrywide deliveries, to be released today, may have reached an annual rate of 11.7 million vehicles this month, the average of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would top the 9.4 million pace last September, the month after the U.S. “cash for clunkers” program ended, and match March’s 11.7 million rate, according to Autodata Corp.
Inventories Expand
“Rubber inventories in China expanded, reflecting purchasing demand, while supply remains limited, driving rubber prices higher,” Sureerat Kunthongjun, an analyst at AGROW Enterprise Ltd., said by phone from Bangkok. Rainfall in Thailand, the largest exporter, obstructed tapping and lowered production, she said.
Natural rubber inventories monitored by the bourse expanded 4,680 tons to 31,580 tons, based on a survey of 10 warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin, the exchange said yesterday.
The Shanghai rubber market is closed as China celebrates National Day holidays from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7.
Gains in rubber futures were limited after the dollar came under pressure against the Japanese currency, weakening the appeal of yen-based contracts. The yen traded at 83.36 per dollar at 4:55 p.m. in Tokyo from 83.53 yesterday.
(bloomberg.com)
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