IRCo's WEEKLY MARKET SNAPSHOT: 13 - 17 December 2010

IRCo's DCP still extended its rise consecutively and ended at 468.26 US cents/kg on Friday. Both rubber futures and physical markets also floated and finished the week higher under support of supply tightness caused by persistent rainfall in rubber producing countries and steady demand from tire and non-tire manufacturers, high oil prices, fund buying, a stable Japanese yen against the greenback, and anticipation of tighter supply in 1Q11 and 2Q11.

The overview of global stock markets was still on an upward trend during the week even though concerns about additional monetary tightening measures by Beijing and European sovereign debt problems caused investors to slow down investment to some extent. In the meantime, the Japanese yen and the tripartite currencies stayed more or less unchanged against the greenback but the euro. Crude oil futures on New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) settled at US$84.14 a barrel on Friday, and many expected a further rise in oil prices in the coming months.

(Source: http://www.irco.biz/MarketWise.php?PHPSESSID=6ee98e57caa0aad0d3b72e9752be3a83)