Platts to launch natural rubber assessments October 3

Following discussions with industry participants, Platts will launch from October 3, 2011 daily natural rubber assessments of grades TSR 20 (Technically Specified Rubber) and RSS 3 (Ribbed Smoked Sheets grade 3) basis FOB Singapore.

Timing: Platts will assess cargoes on an FOB Singapore basis for one and two calendar months forward from the date of publication.

Frequency: Assessments will be published daily and reflect prices at 4:30 p.m. Singapore time (0830 GMT). A midday update will also be published at noon Singapore time (0400 GMT).

Quality: Platts will consider on a normalized basis, bids, offers and trades of Standard Thai Rubber (STR) basis FOB Thailand, Standard Indonesia Rubber (SIR) FOB Indonesia, Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) FOB Malaysia, Standard Vietnamese Rubber (SVR) FOB Vietnam. Cargo Size: Typical weight of 20.16 mt, packed with bales of natural rubber in 16 crates of 1,260 kg each shipped.

Rubber prices basis ex-warehouse in Singapore or Qingdao will not be considered for the assessment of the Platts benchmark international cargo price. Rubber futures prices will also not be considered for assessment. Natural Rubber TSR 20 and RSS 3 basis FOB Singapore spot price assessments will be published on the Platts real-time service Platts Petrochemical Alert (PCA), Platts Olefinscan and in the Platts database.

For feedback and queries please contact Ihsan Rahim at ihsan_rahim@platts.com, Clement Choo at clement_choo@platts.com, and with a cc to pricegroup@platts.com.