Rubber surges on Aug.19

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures rallied on Monday as the largest manufacturer and exporter in top producer Thailand cut output of a major rubber product. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for January delivery finished up 4.1 yen ($0.0385) at 172.9 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 250 yuan ($35.48) to finish at 11,635 yuan per tonne. China's new technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last up 150 yuan at 9,995 yuan per tonne.

TOCOM's TSR 20 futures contract for February delivery closed at 145.4 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 131.7 US cents per kg, up 1%. "Von bundit announced last Friday that they are cutting production of Ribbed Smoked Sheet (RSS) and the main products traded on TOCOM and Singapore's SICOM exchange are RSS rubber," said Tang Xiaonan, analyst, JLC Network Technology Co Ltd.

Von Bundit Co., Ltd told Reuters on Monday it was still operating normally, but only cutting output to be more lean. Rubber prices rose even as the world's top producers of natural rubber are ending curbs on exports of the commodity, although local prices in producing countries declined.