Rubber prices showed slight improvements during the first auction for the year 2013, boosted by recovering demand in Japan and other regional markets.

Latex Crepe 1x traded at an average price of Rs.400 per kilogram, against a flat Rs.382 per kilogram on December 20, whilst Ribbed Smoked Sheet 1 (RSS 1) traded at a flat Rs.395 per kilogram, as compared with Rs.375 per kilogram previously.

“The prices are purely being driven by improvements in Japan and regional markets and we have seen prices rapidly improve over the whole of last week. The last quarter of 2012 was still fairly challenging but overall, the first quarter of this year looks to be positive so far,” Director at Forbes and Walker Commodity Brokers, Damitha Perera said.

Rubber exports generated Rs.1.1 billion during the month of October last year, down 38.2 percent year-on-year. Exports from January to October amounted to Rs.13.7 billion in 2012, against Rs.20.3 billion during the same period in 2011.

In terms of production, Sri Lanka recorded 128.6 million kilograms of rubber production between January and October last year, whereas in 2011, the country produced 132.4 million kilograms during the same period. Improvements in prices at local auctions corresponded with a price rally in international markets as China, the world’s largest consumer of rubber, likely looking to restock before its week-long New Year in early February.