-- Thai government calls for meeting with Indonesia, Malaysia next week
-- Exporters agree not to sell natural rubber below $3/kg
-- Exporters agree not to sell natural rubber below $3/kg
(Recasting throughout to add details)
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--The Thai government has sought a meeting with Indonesia and Malaysia next week to arrest the fall in natural rubber prices, International Rubber Consortium Chief Secretary Yium Tavarolit told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.
Producers are seeking to reverse the sharp decline amid broader market volatility which they say has little to do with supply-demand fundamentals within the sector.
Benchmark April natural rubber futures on the bellwether Tokyo Commodity Exchange continue to be under pressure, settling at Y259 a kilogram Friday, down 16% from the beginning of November and more than 50% below the record high hit in February.
This sharp decline is not justified as demand would still outstrip supply this year, said Pongsak Kerdvongbundit, president of Thai Rubber Association, an industry lobby group.
IRCo will be coordinating the producers' meeting, to be held in Bangkok next week, Yium said.
Exporters from the three countries have also agreed to not sell below $3/kg, said Pongsak. "Prices have fallen too sharply with no reasonable explanation to levels that are far too low. It's panic selling."
Spot prices for tire-grade rubber have fallen to around $3.20-$3.40/kg in the three producing countries, down more than 10% from the start of the month.
Exporter associations in the three countries spoke Friday morning and agreed on the floor price, which takes effect immediately, he said.
The Indonesian Rubber Association, or Gapkindo, confirmed it has urged its members not to sell below $3/kg.
Yium said the Thai government could impose additional measures to support prices, but he declined to divulge details as Indonesia and Malaysia would have to agree to the proposals.
There would be "strong action" this time after all three governments agree to the measures, he said. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia together account for about two-thirds of global natural rubber output.
IRCo had in October recommended slower exports, proposing a $4/kg floor price, but that did not hold as the governments did little to support the price despite the euro-zone crisis triggering a broad sell-off across asset classes.
With demand expected to outstrip supply this year, even $3/kg is too low a price, said Pongsak who is also the managing director of Von Bundit Co. Ltd., Thailand's biggest natural rubber exporter.
There have been conflicting reports Friday about the floor price, with some suggesting $3.50/kg as the level that the Thai government wanted to support. But Von Bundit was offering RSS3 and STR20 tire grades far below $3.50/kg. A Singapore-based dealer said there were offers even below $3/kg for non-prime SIR0 grades.
Producers are seeking to reverse the sharp decline amid broader market volatility which they say has little to do with supply-demand fundamentals within the sector.
Benchmark April natural rubber futures on the bellwether Tokyo Commodity Exchange continue to be under pressure, settling at Y259 a kilogram Friday, down 16% from the beginning of November and more than 50% below the record high hit in February.
This sharp decline is not justified as demand would still outstrip supply this year, said Pongsak Kerdvongbundit, president of Thai Rubber Association, an industry lobby group.
IRCo will be coordinating the producers' meeting, to be held in Bangkok next week, Yium said.
Exporters from the three countries have also agreed to not sell below $3/kg, said Pongsak. "Prices have fallen too sharply with no reasonable explanation to levels that are far too low. It's panic selling."
Spot prices for tire-grade rubber have fallen to around $3.20-$3.40/kg in the three producing countries, down more than 10% from the start of the month.
Exporter associations in the three countries spoke Friday morning and agreed on the floor price, which takes effect immediately, he said.
The Indonesian Rubber Association, or Gapkindo, confirmed it has urged its members not to sell below $3/kg.
Yium said the Thai government could impose additional measures to support prices, but he declined to divulge details as Indonesia and Malaysia would have to agree to the proposals.
There would be "strong action" this time after all three governments agree to the measures, he said. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia together account for about two-thirds of global natural rubber output.
IRCo had in October recommended slower exports, proposing a $4/kg floor price, but that did not hold as the governments did little to support the price despite the euro-zone crisis triggering a broad sell-off across asset classes.
With demand expected to outstrip supply this year, even $3/kg is too low a price, said Pongsak who is also the managing director of Von Bundit Co. Ltd., Thailand's biggest natural rubber exporter.
There have been conflicting reports Friday about the floor price, with some suggesting $3.50/kg as the level that the Thai government wanted to support. But Von Bundit was offering RSS3 and STR20 tire grades far below $3.50/kg. A Singapore-based dealer said there were offers even below $3/kg for non-prime SIR0 grades.
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