China buys Thai rubber

BANGKOK, Thailand (Nov. 5)—China has signed a pact with Thailand, agreeing to buy 58,000 metric tons of natural rubber by the end of this year and to sign an agreement next year for an extra 150,000-200,000 tons, according to a Dow Jones report. Some U.S. NR traders were skeptical of Thailand's claim that this purchase will stabilize or even raise recently falling NR prices. "We haven't seen any effect on the market from that," said Dennis J. Fenley, vice president of Fenley Trading Inc., Danbury, Conn. "The only problem seems to be shippingùthere are still some reverberations from the work stoppage on the West Coast." The price of Standard Indonesian Rubber 20, the grade of rubber used most often by U.S. tire makers, was 37½ cents per pound for January delivery Nov. 5, a dime or more below where it stood in early September.