Chinese rubber futures ticked up on Monday, buoyed by stronger oil prices, although gains were capped as traders remained cautious ahead of upcoming data from the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.

The January rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SNRv1 closed up 35 yuan, or 0.22%, at 15,955 yuan ($2,221.71) per metric ton.

The most active September butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE SHBRv1 rose 20 yuan, or 0.14%, to 14,100 yuan ($1,963.41) per metric ton.

Japan’s financial markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday. Trading will resume on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose for a fifth consecutive session, holding on to last week’s more than 3% gains, as U.S. recession fears eased while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East supported prices. O/R

Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.

Speculative traders are largely cautious as they await key economic data from the U.S., said Jom Jacob, chief analyst at Indian analysis firm What Next Rubber.

U.S. producer and consumer prices numbers are due on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, and market participants remain ambivalent about the odds of a deep Fed rate cut in September.

China’s consumer prices rose at a slightly faster-than-expected rate in July, while producer deflation persisted, keeping the country’s underlying consumption trends soft in a test for policymakers.

Meanwhile, the country’s new yuan loans likely fell sharply in July, dragged down by tepid credit demand and seasonal factors even as the central bank steps up policy support.

More activity data including July retail sales, industrial output and investment are expected to be released this week.

The front-month September rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform STFc1 last traded at 171.4 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.8%.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)