Rubber futures tumbled to the lowest level in three months after the worst earthquake on record in Japan caused power-supply disruptions, forcing carmakers to halt production, raising concern demand may slump.
August-delivery rubber, the most-active contract, plunged as much as 4.5 percent, or 17.9 yen, to 383.5 yen a kilogram ($4,665 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before settling at 384.1 yen. The April-delivery contract tumbled as much as 30 yen to at 378.4 yen, triggering a circuit breaker that suspended trading on all contract months.
“People in Japanese markets are selling commodities now to get cash, and will probably continue doing so,” said Kazuhiko Saito, analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Fujitomi Co.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange later expanded the trading limit for rubber contracts to 40 yen from the previous settlement price, from 30 yen previously, the exchange said on its website.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Japan is facing its worst crisis since the end of World War II, as local media said the death toll from the 8.9-magnitude temblor and subsequent tsunami on March 11 may top 10,000. The Bank of Japan today injected 15 trillion yen ($183 billion) into the financial system.
“The widespread impact from the earthquake has soured market sentiment,” Chaiwat Muenmee, an analyst at Bangkok-based commodity broker DS Futures Co., said by phone today. “It has a direct impact on rubber because Japanese carmakers suspended production.”
Plant Suspension
Some of the nation’s largest manufacturers -- including Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co.,Sony Corp. and beermaker Sapporo Holdings Ltd. -- shut down facilities in northern Japan after the March 11 earthquake caused power supply disruption.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, will suspend production at its Japan factories March 15 and March 16, spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said by phone today. Isuzu Motors Ltd., a Toyota Motor affiliate, will halt production at its two Japan plants until March 18, spokesman Koichi Ito said by phone today.
Hino Motors Ltd. will halt its Japan factories until March 16 at the earliest, spokesman Shigeru Ito said by phone today.
Nissan Motor said about 2,300 new vehicles were damaged by the tsunami. About 1,300 vehicles set for export to the U.S. at Hitachi port in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, and 1,000 others at a service center further north in Miyagi prefecture were swept up in the waves. Nissan also reported minor damage to four factories and two offices and is checking on affiliates, the company said March 12.
Earnings Impact
Honda Motor will stop production from today at its Sayama, Mouka, Hamamatsu and Suzuka factories, the company said March 12.
The production halt will have “a widening near-term impact on company earnings,” Goldman Sachs Group said in a report today. The impact will be temporary and earnings will normalize as Japanese autoparts and tiremakers have recovered “swiftly” from previous earthquakes, the report said.
Bridgestone, the world’s largest tiremaker, has stopped production at four plants in the Kanto region after the earthquake but there is no critical damage, the company said on its website today. Another factory in Yokohama has partially restarted production, it said.
Rebuilding
“In the short-term, the country’s economic and manufacturing activities may be affected and it may have an impact on rubber demand, but the impact isn’t substantial,” Jom Jacob, senior economist at the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, said by phone today.
Japan, the fourth-largest rubber consumer, accounts for about 7 percent of global demand, while the area severely hit by earthquake and tsunami represents about 7.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Jacob said. Rebuilding activities could help revive Japan’s economy and be positive for rubber demand, he said.
May-delivery rubber in Shanghai plunged by the daily 6 percent limit to 33,480 yuan ($5,096) a ton.
The Thai government plans to hold talks with exporters today to discuss measures to try to prevent a slump in local prices, according to Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban.
The free-on-board price, or cost without freight and insurance, for Thailand’s benchmark ribbed smoked sheet fell today for a eighth day, tumbling 7.1 percent to 150.25 baht ($4.94) a kilogram as buyers from China and India have delayed purchases, the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand said. The price reached a record 198.30 baht on Feb. 21.
The auctioned price of ribbed smoked sheet at a rubber trading center in the southern province in Songkhla plunged 18.6 percent to 105 baht a kilogram, while the price of latex declined 15 percent to 97 baht, the institute said.
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