This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Rubber News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — Rubber gained by the most in four months on speculation rising car sales will boost demand for tires and lower tariffs may increase imports by China, the world’s largest consumer.
Futures in Tokyo surged 4.2 percent, the biggest daily increase since Aug. 24, after China’s Ministry of Finance said it will cut tariffs on natural rubber imports in 2010. European car sales surged 27 percent last month, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
“News about China is positive for the market as its tariff reduction may stimulate imports,” Hisaaki Tasaka, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker ACE Koeki Co., said today by phone. “Rising car sales also raised speculation that rubber demand from tire makers will increase.”
Rubber for May delivery gained as much as 4.5 percent to 264.6 yen per kilogram ($2,957 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before settling at 263.8 yen.
Rubber for March delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed by as much as 4.9 percent to 22,780 yuan ($3,336) a ton, the highest level since September last year, before closing at 22,760 yuan.
China’s so-called temporary tariff rate for ribbed smoked sheet will be set at 20 percent of the import price or 1,600 yuan ($234) a metric ton, whichever is lower, the ministry said. The tariff rate for technically specified rubber is set at 20 percent of imported price or 2,000 yuan per ton.
China’s natural rubber imports rose to 120,000 tons in November from 100,000 tons the previous month, according to government data.
Car Sales
November car sales in Europe increased to 1.18 million from 933,458 a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday. Growth in new car registrations accelerated from 11.2 percent in October and 6.3 percent in September as vehicle-scrapping incentives boosted demand in the U.K., France and Spain.
Vehicle production in Japan will increase to 8.98 million units in 2010 from the 7.89 million estimated for this year, according to the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association. Tire demand will rise 7 percent to 109 million units next year, the group said on its Web site.
“Rubber is supported by expectations that economic growth will accelerate next year, leading to an increase in the raw material demand,” ACE Koeki’s Tasaka said.
Thai shippers offered so-called RSS-3 grade rubber for January shipment at $2.71 a kilogram today, little changed from yesterday, Tasaka said.
Source: Bloomberg