Asia: Extreme weather affecting tyre prices

摘要

CITING the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), India's Economic Times newspaper says that bad weather in south east Asia is affecting tyre prices. The weather pattern, El Nino, which is created by the abnormal warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean around the equator, is believed to be the cause of the current droughts in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as the intermittent flooding in the Americas. Currently, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia account for more than 70% of the world's natural rubber output. Bad weather affects the growth of rubber trees, reducing the availability of natural rubber, thereby increasing the price of the raw material.