Rubber Advances a Third Day as Higher Oil Boosts Cost of Rival

By Aya Takada

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber advanced for a third day after crude oil increased, raising the appeal of the commodity as an alternative to synthetic products made from petroleum.

Futures in Tokyo gained as much as 3.5 percent to the highest since Sept. 14, when prices fell the most in nine months on concern that U.S. tariffs on tire imports from China may weaken rubber demand in the Asian country.

“Rubber chased a rally in oil and other commodities,” Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures & Securities Ltd., said by phone today. “Good economic data from the U.S. also supported rubber prices.”

February-delivery rubber climbed 1.7 percent to 206.8 yen ($2,280 a metric ton) a kilogram on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Crude oil in New York jumped 2.2 percent yesterday after the U.S. Energy Department reported stockpiles of the fuel in the biggest energy consuming nation dropped to the lowest level since January.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 11 cents at $72.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:49 p.m. Singapore time.

Reports on U.S. industrial production and consumer prices yesterday showed the country is emerging from the recession.

A report today may show U.S. builders broke ground in August on the most houses in nine months, another sign the industry that precipitated the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is stabilizing, economists said. Separate data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia may show manufacturing in the region increased this month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aya Takada in Tokyo atakada2@bloomberg.net