Rubber falls as major buyers keep away

Rubber falls as major buyers keep away

KOTTAYAM, JUNE 20:
Physical rubber prices slipped on Monday. According to observers, the market fell further though it was expected to remain firm during the season on supply concerns as major consuming industries were totally inactive. The trend was partially mixed. Meanwhile in the international scene, the key Tokyo rubber futures slipped on low demand due to uncertainty over the economic outlook of the US but the losses were limited on short supplies.

Sheet rubber declined to Rs 222.50 (224.00) a kg according to traders. The grade dropped to Rs 223.00 (225.00) a kg both at Kottayam and Kochi as reported by the Rubber Board.

In futures, the July series closed at Rs 222.10 (222.75), August at Rs 224.19 (224.57), September at Rs 222.45 (222.40), October at Rs 221.94 (221.75), November at Rs 221.50 (222.25) and December at Rs 223.40 (226.60) per kg for RSS 4 on National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE). RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 227.72 (229.72) a kg at Bangkok. The June futures slipped to Rs 405.0 (Rs 226.99) from Rs 406.0 per kg during the day session but then finished unchanged at Rs 405 in the night session on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM).

The spot rubber rates in Rs per kg were: RSS-4: 222.50 (224.00), RSS-5: 220.00 (222.00),

Ungraded: 218.00 (218.00), ISNR 20: 221.00 (222.00), and Latex 60 per cent: 139.00 (140.00)




Tokyo Futures Fall on Growth Concerns
June 20, 2011


Key Tokyo rubber futures fell about 1 percent on Monday (June 20) on demand concerns due to uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook, though supply worries were likely to limit losses.
FUNDAMENTALS
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for November delivery fell 3.5 yen, or 0.9 percent, to 376.3 yen per kg as of 0010 GMT.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for September delivery rose 295 yuan to close on Friday (June 17) at 33,405 yuan ($5,158.734) per tonne.
TOCOM futures prices are expected to be supported this week by limited supply on heavy rain in Thailand, the world’s biggest producer, disrupting tapping and cutting supply.
U.S. crude futures in Asia on Monday (June 20) slipped from earlier gains after falling to a four-month low below $92 per barrel late last week on an easing in worries about demand.
The euro clung to most of the gains made late last week, underpinned by hopes for some progress on Greece’s debt crisis, but the single currency remained vulnerable to any turn of events as European officials meet to hammer out a deal.
MARKET NEWS
U.S. consumer sentiment worsened this month on renewed concerns about the outlook for the economy and as gloom about job and income prospects persisted, data showed on Friday (June 17).
Japan’s exports fell 10.3 percent in May from a year earlier, with the pace of decline slowing, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday (June 20), as companies mend supply chains and resume factory output after the March earthquake and tsunami, but the trade balance logged a deficit for the second straight month due to a jump in imports.
A few cargoes of tyre grade rubber changed hands for July and August shipment at around $4 a kg, and main consumer China began showing some interest after a long absence although no business was reported, dealers said on Friday (June 17).
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 6.5 percent last week, the exchange said on Friday (June 17).
Hyundai Motor Co plans to boost its European new-car sales to 500,000 by 2013, up nearly 40 percent from 358,284 in 2010, the Korean automaker told Automotive News Europe.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average opened up 0.34 percent at 9,383.24 on Monday (June 20).
The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday (June 17) after France and Germany outlined an agreement to aid debt-burdened Greece, but analysts said a recent bearish trend may persist.
(Reuters, June 20, 2011)





China Car Market To Start Recovering in 6-12 Months – GM
June 20, 2011


The sharp slowdown in China’s auto market, the world’s biggest, is temporary and recovery will start in the next 6 to 12 months, the China chief of General Motors said on Friday (June 17).
The country’s overall car sales dipped 0.1 percent in May from a year earlier, its first decline in more than two years, after the government unwound all its policy incentives that saw sales surge by a third in 2010 and more than half in 2009.
“We think that it (slowdown) is only temporary. We think it’ll recover in the next 6-12 months,” GM’s China head Kevin Wale told Reuters in an interview.
“We tend to focus on trend line growth, which we think is still going to be solid. The economic fundamentals are still strong.”
Industry observers are divided over the market outlook for the rest of the year. Optimists still expect the market to finish the year on a positive note, but pessimists predict a decline of as much as 10 percent.
“Our objective is to grow 10-15 percent and we want to outperform the market. But realistically it’s a tough market and you’re not going to make quantum leaps. You’ve just got to make sure you keep moving a bit more than the market moves,” Wale said.
The Detroit automaker’s China sales in May fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier, its second consecutive monthly decline.
Wale said in April that GM planned to more than double its sales in China to around 5 million units by 2015 after introducing some 60 new and upgraded models over the coming five years.
Speaking on electric vehicles (EVs), which automakers see as the next area of growth, Wale said in the interview GM hoped to produce all its EVs, including its poster car Volt, in China although he did not give a time frame.
“At some stage we’d love to produce all our electric vehicles here. It’s the world’s largest market,” he said.
“We think it’s really important we develop local supply capability and technology. We’re focused on developing the supply capability in China so we can all grow at the same pace.”
Wale reiterated the company’s plans to introduce the Chevrolet Volt in the fourth quarter of this year.
China is aiming to have half a million EVs on the roads by 2015 although sales have totalled just 7,000 so far.
“One would probably think the numbers are a bit ambitious at this stage. There’s still a lot of development work that needs to be done on electric vehicles in terms of total supply chain, infrastructure and vehicles.”
(Reuters, June 17, 2011)