Recent updates from ANRPC member nations indicate that global natural rubber (NR) production is projected to rise modestly by 0.5% in 2025 compared to 2024. Concurrently, demand for natural rubber is expected to grow by 1.3% in 2025. This anticipated growth occurs amid increasing worries about a possible global economic slowdown, driven by the complexities of U.S. tariff policies and a forecasted decline in demand growth. 2025 is shaping up to be one of the slowest years for global economic expansion since the pandemic, largely due to the ripple effects of U.S. tariff hikes.

Source : ANRPC

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Toyota Motor Corp. sold 151,669 cars and light trucks in China in July, a 5.7 percent increase from a year earlier, extending the Japanese automaker’s streak of gains to five months.

Source : autonews.com

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Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday he supports a quarter-point interest rate cut at the U.S. central bank’s September meeting, citing weakening job growth and contained inflation once tariff effects are stripped out.

Oil prices fell on Friday but are set for a weekly gain, caught between expectations of lower demand as the end of summer nears in the United States, the world’s biggest consumer, and uncertainty about the availability of Russian supply.

Japan’s factory output slumped in July as U.S. tariffs bite and a leading indicator of nationwide inflation slowed, data showed on Friday, complicating the central bank’s decision on the next rate-hike timing.

Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Friday, with Chinese shares extending their stellar performance through August and remaining at recent multi-year peaks, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated on a swathe of negative economic readings.