The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has reported a 7.6% jump in the global demand for natural rubber (NR).
Demand for NR rose from 3.1 million tons during Q1 2017, to 3.4 million tons during Q1 2018. Over the same period, global supply of NR grew by 3.3% year-on-year, to 3.2 million tons. However, this favorable supply-demand ratio was not reflected in the movement of rubber prices. According to the ANRPC, this may be due to the uncertain outlook over trade tension between China and USA, along with worries over rising inventories in the futures market and a strong yen.
