On Thursday, the price of Japanese rubber futures fluctuated due to the combined effects of falling oil prices, concerns about weather conditions in Thailand, a major rubber producer, and weakening yen.

As of 11:20 Beijing time, the rubber contract for September delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose by 0.20 yuan, and the futures price was 1,5075 yuan/ton. The rubber contract for December delivery on the Osaka Exchange fell 0.4 yen, down 0.12% to 331 yen per kilogram.

The Thai Meteorological Agency warned that heavy rain could occur from July 4 to 7, which could cause flash floods.

A Singapore-based trader said the La Niña weather forecast would affect rubber plantations in Thailand, which could “reduce rubber yield and increase susceptibility to leaf disease.”

The yen remained near the low of 161.96 yen per dollar hit on the previous trading day, the lowest level since December 1986. The depreciation of the yen has made assets denominated in yen more attractive to overseas buyers.

Because the US market was closed due to the July 4 holiday, traders are preparing for possible Japanese government intervention in the currency market, considering that Tokyo intervened during the April 29 and May 1 global trading days when liquidity was insufficient or holiday trading was light.

Oil prices fell in early trading. Earlier, US employment and business activity data were weaker than expected, indicating that the economy of the US, the world's largest consumer of oil, may be cooling down.

Natural rubber usually follows the trend of oil prices because it competes with synthetic rubber made from crude oil for market share.

On the Singapore side, the last trading price of the recent month's rubber contract, which was delivered in August on the SICOM platform of the Singapore Exchange, was 169.6 cents per kilogram, a decrease of 0.1%.

(The above analysis is based on the latest views of Reuters)