Japan futures hit 15-year high on firm raw material costs, Ivory Coast port congestion

By Reuters News

By Emily Ou Yong

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Japanese rubber futures surged to a 15-year high on Thursday as the market reopened after a three-day holiday, driven by firm raw material costs and supply concerns caused by port congestion in one of the top rubber producers, Ivory Coast.

  • The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for February delivery , was up 21.5 yen, or 5%, at 451.7 yen ($2.86) per kg as of 0230 GMT. It touched its highest since April 13, 2011.

  • The market was closed on Monday through Wednesday for a holiday.

  • The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery rose 285 yuan, or 1.49%, to 19,405 yuan ($2,889.02) per metric ton, its highest since September 10.

  • The most active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE surged 550 yuan, or 3.71%, to 15,380 yuan per metric ton.

  • A Singapore-based rubber trader said the rally has been driven by a combination of factors, including the impact of El Niño, congestion at Ivory Coast's Abidjan port, and reduced raw material supplies, all of which have tightened the supply-demand balance.

  • Top rubber producer Thailand's meteorological agency warned of severe rains and flash floods from September 23 to 27.

  • Rubber tapping in Thai producing areas remains disrupted by rainfall, keeping raw material prices firm, analysts from broker Shenyin Wanguo Futures said in a note.

  • Thailand's benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber prices were up 0.94% and 1.51%, to 93.12 baht per kg and 84.92 baht per kg, respectively.

  • At 157.9, the Japanese yen hovered near its three-week low, with traders on alert for possible intervention after markets judged the Bank of Japan's rate hike to a 31-year high last week as insufficiently hawkish. USD/

  • A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/

  • The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for December delivery last traded at 249.3 U.S. cents per kg, up 1.1%.

($1 = 157.9200 yen)

($1 = 6.7168 Chinese yuan)

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