Global rubber demand may fall slightly or be flat in 2012: IRSG

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 02:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Global rubber demand may fall slightly this year or stay flat from last year as a worsening debt crisis in Europe threatens commodities demand, an official of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) said last week.

“I am pretty certain from the demand side, numbers will not be going up.

They will either be staying the same or they will be slightly fine-tuned downwards,” Stephen Evans, secretary-general of producer and consumer grouping the International Rubber Study Group, told Reuters. “The demand side will either stay the same or it will go down slightly.”

The IRSG, which had forecast global demand for natural and synthetic rubber at 26.8 million tons this year, forecast 2013 global demand on Wednesday to rise just over 5 percent year-on-year to 28.2 million tons. Global rubber consumption is forecast to reach 36.7 million tons by 2020, with natural rubber consumption also rising to 16.4 million tons, the group said. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia produce 70 percent of the world’s natural rubber. China takes 35 percent of rubber output, making it the world’s largest user of the commodity.

“China is not headline news at the moment, they already made an announcement that things are coming down. The biggest news this week is of course Europe,” Evans added.

The IRSG will issue its next update in June.

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