Japan rubber futures ease on falling oil prices

SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell alongside oil prices on Tuesday, while rising inventories in China’s main rubber import hub of Qingdao added to the pressure on prices.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for September delivery was down 1 yen, or 0.26 percent, at 390.4 yen (USD2.46) per kg. It was up as much as 393 yen, or 0.51 percent, earlier in the session.

In contrast, the rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery rose 225 yuan, or 1.34 percent, to 17,065 yuan (USD2,504.22) per metric ton.

The most-active May butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE fell 100 yuan, or 0.63 percent, to 15,655 yuan per ton.

Oil prices fell more than USD1 on Tuesday, reversing gains from the previous session, on expectations that peace talks between the US and Iran will take place this week and lead to more supply from the key Middle East producing region.

High prices of synthetic rubber are currently acting as a price floor to natural rubber prices, Chinese broker Zhengxin Futures said in a note.

However, increasing inventories in Qingdao, China’s main rubber import hub, are limiting price gains, the broker said.

In automobile-related news, the global tyre market is expected to remain weak in the first quarter of 2026 as easing stimulus policies in China led to a slowdown in demand, while European and American markets remain plagued by macroeconomic uncertainty, according to the China Rubber Industry Association.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for May delivery last traded at 206.5 US cents per kg, up 0.6 percent as of 0723 GMT.