โ All Products ยท Product Guide
Natural Rubber (RU)
Natural rubber is one of the most industrially strategic soft commodities on earth โ and the Dalian Commodity Exchange's RU contract is Asia's benchmark for pricing it. Every tire plant from Qingdao to Detroit watches this market. If you want exposure to a commodity that sits at the crossroads of agriculture, petrochemicals and global auto manufacturing, RU delivers it with deep liquidity and clean technical structure.
Contract Specifications
| Exchange | Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) |
| Symbol | RU |
| Contract size | 10 metric tons per lot |
| Price quote | CNY per metric ton |
| Minimum tick | ยฅ5/ton = ยฅ50/lot (โ$7) |
| Trading hours | Day 9:00โ10:15, 10:30โ11:30, 13:30โ15:00 Beijing ยท Night: 21:00โ23:00 Beijing |
| Contract months | 1โ12 months, odd months plus recent even months (list varies) |
| Exchange margin (reference) | ~8โ12% exchange margin (dynamic) โ adjusted dynamically; the exchange's latest notice always prevails. |
| Example lot value | ยฅ14,000/ton โ ยฅ140,000/lot (โ$19,600), margin โยฅ13,000 (โ$1,820) |
Specifications are reference values compiled from exchange publications. Margins and price limits adjust dynamically โ the exchange's latest announcements prevail.
What Moves Natural Rubber
- Thai/Indonesian production cycles. Thailand and Indonesia supply the majority of the world's natural rubber. Monsoon patterns, leaf-drop disease and tapping season shifts in Southeast Asia directly move Dalian prices โ supply shocks in HALIA terms hit the DCE contract within hours.
- Shanghai and Tokyo futures linkage. RU trades in lockstep with Shanghai's SHFE rubber (the physical-delivery benchmark) and Osaka's OSE contract during Asian hours. Arbitrage flows between the three exchanges keep prices honest and give day traders a constant external reference.
- China auto and tire demand. China produces more tires than any country on earth. Monthly auto sales figures, tire export data and freight-tonnage demand readings are the demand-side engine of the RU complex.
- Synthetic rubber substitution. When crude oil falls, synthetic rubber (a petroleum byproduct) gets cheaper and squeezes natural rubber demand. RU traders watch crude and butadiene spreads as a constant cross-check.
- Qingdao inventory levels. Qingdao's bonded warehouses hold the world's most-watched rubber stockpile. Weekly inventory draws or builds function as the market's physical reality check against paper sentiment.
Why Traders Watch It
RU rewards patient trend-followers but punishes complacency around supply reports. ANRPC monthly meetings and Thai export policy announcements can gap the market โ respect the daily price limits, which can lock you in during weather-driven squeezes. Liquidity concentrates in the active-month contract, and margin calls come fast when Southeast Asian weather turns. The night session keeps you connected to Tokyo and Singapore flows, but thin night liquidity means wider spreads on stop orders.
Trading RU on XS Select
All XS Select evaluations include RU and every other major Chinese commodity contract, on real Wenhua Finance market data with institutional liquidity. Commission is 2x the exchange standard (open and close) โ replicating professional conditions.
Ready to trade it? Take the challenge from $29 โ pass the evaluation and earn a 10x bonus plus a funded performance account with 50% profit share. Sign up โ