Asian NR agreement could be done deal in June

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (May 25)—Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia will make a formal announcement at the end of June about a cooperative agreement to control marketing and production of their natural rubber, according to an article from Malaysia´s "Business Times." Ministers from the three countries are scheduled to meet June 29 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to complete the agreement, the paper said. U.S. sources were skeptical about whether the pact would successfully raise rock-bottom NR prices. "It will be difficult for them to change the current situation in the market, which is a plentiful nearby supply," said Kip Tobin, president of Centrotrade Rubber U.S.A. in Akron and of the Rubber Trade Association of North America.