Rubber prices may plunge this month<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Rubber prices, now buoyed by seasonal
\nfactors, could move lower in coming weeks as the market lacks
\nstrong fundamental support, delegates at an industry meeting said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
They said at the ASEAN Rubber Business Club meeting that firm
\nprices, supported by unusually heavy rains and the current
\nwintering period when latex flow is minimal, were favorable for
\nboth growers and traders.<\/p>\n
\"But we should be cautious as the current price increases are
\nnot structural,\" A.F.S. Budiman, executive director of the Rubber
\nAssociation of Indonesia (Gapkindo) told Reuters in an interview.<\/p>\n
He said that the meeting also discussed the plight of Thai
\ntraders who have lost rubber shipments bound for China.<\/p>\n
At least three cargoes have gone missing on the high seas in
\nrecent months, with the latest case involving a consignment of
\n3,400 tons of rubber, Budiman said.<\/p>\n
\"The latest case is in the hands of Interpol,\" he said without
\nelaborating. China is a major buyer of Thai rubber.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are the world's largest
\nproducers of natural rubber and are all members of ASEAN, the
\nAssociation of South East Asian Nations. ASEAN also groups
\nBrunei, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Budiman said the current wintering period -- when trees shed
\nleaves and production declines -- followed heavy rains and floods
\nin some of Indonesia's key growing areas.<\/p>\n
\"There's been a shortage of rubber since early this week,
\ncompared with last year, because of the heavy rainfall and this
\nhas pushed prices higher,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian benchmark SIR20 rubber is fetching 69 U.S. cents a
\npound, up from around 55 cents six months ago but down from
\naround 80 cents a year ago.<\/p>\n
Wintering, which started in February, could last until April.<\/p>\n
Budiman said despite high prices, global demand, with the
\nexception of China, was quite constant. The Chinese are likely to
\nstay out of the current market until prices move much lower, he
\nconcluded.<\/p>",
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