* Thai STR20 sold to China at $1.57 a kg CIF
* RSS3 untraded, Indonesian sellers refuse to offer
* SMR20 traded at CIF Qingdao port
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Buyers from China snapped upThai rubber this week after prices plunged to multi-year lows,but the one-off deals were not a reflection of an improvement indemand from the world’s top consumer, dealers said on Friday.
Some sellers in main producer Thailand may be under pressureto strike deals on fears that global prices could fall furtherafter the military government decided to sell half of thecountry’s 200,000-tonne stockpile, adding to concerns about analready oversupplied market.
In Singapore’s SICOM market, the front-month contract tumbled to a five-year low this week. The TSR contractcovers Thai STR20, Malaysian SMR20 and Indonesian SIR20 grades.
Thai STR20 for nearby delivery was traded at $1.57 a kgincluding freight to China in a series of overnight deals, orabout $1.55 a kg without freight. Another Thai grade, RSS3, wasuntraded and quoted at $1.65 a kg FOB.
“We’ve seen more buying activity from China. I would saythis is clearly the case of China buying on dips. I am not sureif they are going to get more rubber,” said a dealer inThailand. “The RSS3 market is still very quiet for a number ofdays.”
Farmers and sellers in second-largest producer Indonesiawere equally dismayed by the falling prices. Tokyo rubberfutures, which influence SICOM, have fallen more than 30percent this year, hurt by worries about China’s economy andrecently by Thailand’s decision to sell the stockpile.
Many sellers in Indonesia retreated from the physicalmarket, although there were quotations for the SIR20 grade at$1.49 to $1.50 a kg earlier this week.
“We don’t hear any offers today. We can’t make money if wehave to sell it below $1.62 to $1.63. There’s no profit,” said adealer in Indonesia’s main growing island of Sumatra.
“I guess you can break even if you sell SIR20 at $1.63 to$1.64.”
Malaysian SMR20 rubber changed hands at different prices.One Singapore-based dealer said he sold the grade at $1.61 a kgovernight, while a trader in Kuala Lumpur said SMR20 was tradedon Friday morning at $1.59 including freight to China’s Qingdaoport.
(Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
– Reuters
