橡胶周报：留意低位支撑-20250622

1. Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant content provided. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - The market is optimistic about the increase in rubber production in 2025, but the rebound after the low - level of rubber prices is weak. It is recommended to pay attention to the low - level support, and aggressive investors can hold long positions. Also, pay attention to the arbitrage strategy of going long on br and short on ru [6]. - The macro - environment is complex, with intensified Middle - East geopolitical conflicts, domestic reserve requirement ratio and interest rate cuts, and the Fed's stance on interest rates. Trade negotiations between China and the US may be volatile. Real - estate data is poor, and the automobile market is highly competitive [6]. 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Main Views - Macro: Middle - East geopolitical conflicts intensify. China cuts reserve requirement ratio and interest rates, while the Fed keeps rates unchanged with two expected cuts this year. Sino - US trade negotiations may be volatile. Real - estate data is worse than expected, and the automobile market is highly competitive [6]. - Supply: The market is optimistic about 2025 rubber production increase. The large - cycle production capacity inflection point has arrived, but production inertia remains. The warming of the equatorial central and eastern Pacific Ocean weakens negative factors [6]. - Inventory: Qingdao dry - rubber inventory has stopped accumulating at a low level and slightly decreased, possibly due to downstream restocking. Exchange ru and nr warehouse receipts are at low levels. Cis - polybutadiene rubber inventory has rebounded to a high since 2017, and Shandong semi - steel tire finished - product inventory is much higher than last year [6]. - Demand: The domestic passenger - car price war has intensified, raising concerns about inventory pressure and weak demand. Real - estate and infrastructure construction are saturated. Heavy - truck sales have marginally improved, with a 6% year - on - year increase in May and a 1% cumulative increase from January to May 2025. Construction machinery sales are low, and cement production has a deeper year - on - year negative growth as of May. Passenger - car sales are strong but may have over - consumed [6]. - Strategy: Pay attention to low - level support, aggressive investors hold long positions. Focus on the arbitrage of going long on br and short on ru [6]. 3.2 Futures and Spot Markets - Rubber prices rebounded and then declined, with some varieties having large declines. The upstream oil price rebounded, but the price of butadiene, the raw material for synthetic rubber, was weak. The absolute price of old whole - latex spot is lower than last year and near the median of recent years [8][12]. - The ru basis has strengthened marginally. The month - spread has also strengthened but remains in a contango structure, which is unfavorable for long positions. The Ru9 - 1 month - spread is around - 800 in contango, the Nr consecutive 1 - consecutive 3 month - spread is around 50 and continues to weaken, and the br consecutive 1 - consecutive 3 month - spread has reversed to around 120 and is weakening marginally [15][20]. - The spot whole - latex to 20 - grade rubber spread has fallen to a low level again, and the 20 - grade rubber has a high virtual - to - real ratio. Synthetic rubber Br has rebounded relative to natural rubber [25]. - Thai raw material prices have declined marginally, and the spread between latex and cup lump has increased. Currently, rubber is being tapped globally with normal weather conditions [29]. - Processing profits have declined again recently [36]. 3.3 Inventory End - Qingdao dry - rubber inventory decreased rapidly from August 2023 to mid - October 2024 to a low since 2017, and now the low - level accumulation has stopped with a slight decrease. Butadiene port inventory has rebounded [40][45]. - The ru delivery product inventory is at a low level; the nr warehouse receipts dropped rapidly from a 5 - year high to the median level after the third quarter and are now rebounding from an extremely low level [50][56]. - Cis - polybutadiene rubber factory and trader inventories have rebounded from low levels. Tire factory and downstream trade inventories are high [59][61]. 3.4 Supply End - According to ANRPC adjusted data, the cumulative natural rubber production of member countries from January to December 2024 decreased by less than 0.5% year - on - year. China's natural rubber production from January to December 2024 was 911,400 tons, a 10% increase from the previous 854,000 tons [64]. - In 2024, rubber imports were lower than previous years due to eudr diversion, overseas restocking, and reduced arbitrage demand. In 2025, the import data of natural and synthetic rubber increased significantly, with a 17% year - on - year increase in March and a 21% increase in the first three months [68]. - The large - cycle inflection point of supply - side production capacity has arrived, and the bottom support is becoming stronger. However, production is affected by weather, pests, and profit margins, and demand affected by macro and policies determines the upper limit. There are signs of aging rubber tree age structure in production areas, especially in Indonesia [80]. 3.5 Demand End - The full - steel tire operating rate has rebounded to the median of the multi - year range, exceeding last year's level, while the semi - steel tire operating rate has rebounded slightly lower than last year and is at a high in the multi - year range [87]. - As of May 2025, the cumulative year - on - year growth of tire outer - tube production is about 3% and is marginally declining, with a much slower growth rate than last year. The cumulative year - on - year growth of tire exports as of May is about 9%, performing relatively well but lower than last year [92]. - Heavy - truck sales have marginally improved, with a 6% year - on - year increase in May and a 1% cumulative increase from January to May 2025 [97]. - Domestic passenger - car sales (including exports) are strong due to policy incentives, domestic substitution, and overseas market expansion. However, the price war has intensified, and exports face challenges such as tariffs. The support from passenger cars may be limited due to the weak real - estate and infrastructure [101]. - Overseas automobile sales are generally average, with the US and Japan seeing rebounds, but the EU performing poorly. Trade wars have disrupted consumption patterns [105]. - Cement production had negative growth last year and has marginally improved this year, but the cumulative year - on - year negative growth has deepened as of May [111]. - Transportation investment is a key measure for stable growth but has limited effect due to infrastructure saturation. Excavator sales rebounded and then softened [115]. - Real - estate data from January to May 2025 has deteriorated, bringing pessimism. Given the long real - estate cycle and unfavorable population situation, a turnaround will take time [121]. - Road freight volume is stable but lower than in 2019, reflecting a decline in demand and substitution by railway and waterway transportation [124].