LONDON—Natural rubber markets generally declined over the recent weeks, as crude oil prices weakened and the Chinese government began to tackle soaring commodity prices.
Almost all Far East markets monitored by ERJ over the two weeks to May 21 posted a decline, following a slight recovery at the beginning of the month.
The most active rubber contracts for September delivery in Shanghai fell 5.3 percent during the two-week period, while RSS3 futures tracked a negative trajectory with a 1.6 percent drop.
India's Kottayam was the only the market to post a positive trend during the period, helped by tight supply amid COVID-19 lockdowns in the rubber province of Kerala.
The declines came as the Chinese government's took measures to crack down on "excessive speculation" in the commodity markets, which had pushed raw material prices up in recent weeks.
In addition, rising COVID cases in Asia and the prospect of a deal between Washington and Tehran to remove sanctions on Iran led to a drop in oil prices, influencing natural rubber markets.
The market declines include:
- Shanghai SHFE, down 5.3 percent;
- Osaka RSS3, down 1.6 percent;
- Singapore SGX TSR20, down 2.6 percent;
- Kuala Lumpur SMR20, down 4.3 percent; and
- Kuala Lumpur Latex, down 1.4 percent.
Kottayam RSS4 was up 2.6 percent.