03rd December, 2019

Spot rubber remains steady

Spot rubber continued to remain neutral on Monday. RSS 4 was quoted steady at
Rs.130.00 a kg by traders. The grade finished unchanged at Rs.126.50 and Rs.130.50
per kg respectively according to dealers and the Rubber Board. The market lost its
direction amidst dull volumes.

The commodity ended on a steady note during the last weekend session as there were
no genuine buyers or sellers in the local trading houses to set a definite trend in the
market. According to observers, the tyre makers preferred to sideline the market as they
were comfortable with their stockpiles.

The December futures firmed up to Rs.133.07 (132.18), January to Rs.134.35 (133.40)

and February to Rs.136.97 (134.88) per kg on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).
.
RSS 3 (spot) improved to Rs.110.70 (109.64) per kg at Bangkok. The December futures
weakened to Rs.109.21 (110.04), January to Rs.108.22 (109.65) and February to
Rs.111.49 (112.40) per kg on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM).

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/spot-rubber-remains-
steady/article30139049.ece#

Tokyo rubber rises on strong China data

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures rose on Monday, helped by strong

factory data in top rubber buyer China and a sharp drop in Shanghai's inventories,
although cloudy outlook over the US-China trade talks limited gains.

TOCOM's rubber contract for May delivery finished 2.3 yen higher at 189.3 yen ($1.74)
per kg, after reaching an intraday high of 192.1 yen, near the highest since early-July hit
last week. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for
January delivery rose 70 yuan to finish at 12,640 yuan ($1,796) per tonne. China's new
technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last up 20 yuan at 10,625
yuan per tonne.

“Healthy economic data in China and a plunge in China's rubber stocks prompted fresh
buys," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co. Rubber
inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 53.4%
from the prior week, the exchange said on Friday.

“But with growing uncertainty over US-China trade dispute, gains were capped,"
Tazawa said. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for
January delivery last traded at 140.0 US cents per kg, up 0.4%.
China's factory activity showed surprising signs of improvement in November, with
growth picking up to a near three-year high, a private sector survey showed on Monday,
reinforcing upbeat government data released over the weekend.

Beijing's top priority in any phase one trade deal is the removal of existing US tariffs on
Chinese goods, China's Global Times newspaper reported on Sunday, amid uncertainty
on whether the two sides can end a 17-month trade war that has depressed global
growth.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average rose on Monday by the most in a month after
data showed China's factory activity and domestic demand picked up. The US dollar
was quoted around 109.61 yen, compared with around 109.47 yen on Friday afternoon
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday as signs of rising manufacturing activity in
China pointed to increasing fuel demand, and hints that OPEC may deepen output cuts
at its meeting this week indicated supply may tighten next year.

https://www.brecorder.com/2019/12/03/549736/tokyo-rubber-rises-on-strong-china-data/

Diamond prices likely to remain under pressure for first half of 2020, says
Liberum

THE world’s diamond sector may be kept waiting longer than it anticipated for a
recovery in rough diamond prices which have been under pressure throughout 2019.
Citing Liberum analyst, Ben Davis, Bloomberg News said the slump in diamond prices
could extend into the first half of 2020. CEO of De Beers, Bruce Cleaver, said earlier
this year that a market revival might occur from Thanksgiving which leads into the
Christmas and New Year periods – normally a time of buoyant demand for diamond
jewellery. Until then, De Beers afforded the mid-stream – the diamond cutting and
polishing industry – time to clear its inventory of rough diamonds through the deferral of
purchases from the diamond producer. But Davis said that whilst there were some signs
of improvement, the market was likely to remain “difficult”.

“While there is some optimism emerging from expected mine supply cuts and an end to
the de-stocking in the midstream that should help lift rough diamond prices, the next six
months are still likely to be difficult for the industry,” said Davis. “De-stocking of
inventory will only end with sustained midstream margin improvement from rising
polished prices,” he said. “But end-use jewellery demand remains bleak in key growth
markets and synthetic diamond exports from India are exploding,” he said. On
November 13, De Beers announced improved rough diamond sales for its ninth ‘cycle’,
or ‘sight’ of the year, which came in at $390m. Although lower than the $442m worth of
diamonds it sold in the corresponding cycle of 2018, the latest numbers are better than
$297m of its eighth cycle reported in October, a level that might represent the year’s
nadir.

https://www.miningmx.com/trending/39433-diamond-prices-likely-to-remain-under-
pressure-for-first-half-of-2020-says-liberum/