TOKYO—Natural rubber futures rallied across all exchanges during the trading week ended March 15, according to the Japan Exchange Group (JPX).
Concerns over supply shortages, robust physical demand and the influence of the El Niño weather pattern prompted the uptick, JPX reported in its March 18 update. "Speculators and commodity funds were actively involved in the market, contributing to the upward momentum in rubber prices over the past few weeks," it said.
OSE rubber futures rallied 12.4 percent, reaching a seven-year high as lower production in Thailand and a shortage of latex triggered "a buying frenzy in OSE RSS3 futures."
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), rubber pricing closed up 4.6 percent week-on-week, driven by "speculative funds increasing their long positions," JPX said. Open interest in SHFE added 81,000 lots over the past two months.
China's other rubber exchange, the INE, meanwhile, recorded a 3.6-percent increase in NR futures amid "heavy trading volume" and fresh buying interest.
On Singapore's SICOM exchange, rubber futures climbed 3.6 percent due to strong spread and arbitrage buying.
Despite the bullish NR trading scenario, JPX said rubber prices on all exchanges had "entered the overbought territory." Citing "rubber support interest" (RSI) indicators, JPX said OSE was overbought by 87.3 percent, SHFE by 80.8 percent, INE by 73.5 percent and SICOM by 74.3 percent.
