Natural Rubber Market Shows Slight Upswing with Fluctuations

August 26, News

According to the commodity market analysis system, the Chinese natural rubber spot market has shown a slight upward trend with fluctuations recently (from August 11 to August 25). As of August 25, the spot price of natural rubber in China was around 14975 CNY/ton, an increase of 1.07% from 14816 CNY/ton on August 11. The slight increase in tire production has provided a solid demand support for natural rubber; on the other hand, the firmness of natural rubber raw material prices has continued to provide cost support. Additionally, a slight decrease in port inventory in China has improved market sentiment, driving the natural rubber prices to fluctuate and rise. As of August 25, the mainstream prices for 2024 Guangken, Baodao, and Haibao whole milk rubber in the Qingdao area were between 14900 and 15100 CNY/ton.

As of August 25, the price of Thai adhesive stood at 55.25 Thai baht per kilogram, up 2.31% from 54.00 Thai baht per kilogram on August 11. In mid-August, localized heavy rainfall in Thailand has posed challenges to natural rubber (TSR) tapping activities. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s aging natural rubber plantations continue to experience unstable yields, providing some support for raw TSR prices in the short term. However, as tapping is expected to resume in the coming weeks, raw TSR prices may eventually ease from their current high levels.

Recently (August 11–25), natural rubber inventories continued to decline slightly, boosting market sentiment. As of August 24, 2025, the combined inventory volume of bonded and general-trade natural rubber in the Qingdao region totaled 606,200 tons, down 10,500 tons—or a 1.71% decrease—from the previous period.

Recently (August 11-25), the downstream tire production has slightly increased, supporting the demand for natural rubber. As of August 22, the semi-steel tire production of Chinese tire companies has slightly increased to around 74%; in Shandong Province, the all-steel tire production of tire companies has slightly increased to about 65%.

Market Forecast: Currently, high global raw material prices in China and increased operating rates in the downstream tire industry are both supporting natural rubber prices. Meanwhile, port inventories of natural rubber have slightly declined. With the peak season approaching, natural rubber prices are expected to fluctuate upward in the near term.