Production of natural rubber increased 17.1 per cent in December 2020

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian stocks inched higher on Wednesday, as upbeat Wall Street earnings and optimism about a global recovery supported sentiment, although concerns about the sustainability of a recent risk rally are likely to cap gains.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose again on Wednesday, extending their more than week-long rally after industry data showing a fall in U.S. crude oil stocks added to optimism about an expected rise in global fuel demand.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar traded near two-week lows as demand for safer assets ebbed on Wednesday, with traders looking ahead to an expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic this year, driven by massive fiscal and monetary stimulus.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s factory gate prices rose in annual terms in January for the first time in 12 months and at the fastest rate since May 2019, official data showed on Wednesday, suggesting gathering growth momentum for the world’s second-largest economy.

The outlook for world production of natural rubber (NR) is estimated to decline by 7.7%, year-on-year, to 12.782 million tonnes for 2020. The improved outlook for 2020 compared to the previous outlook published in last issue, is resulted from a better-than-expected production estimated from Thailand, India and Cambodia during the year. While the world demand for NR clocked at 12.827 million tonnes during 2020, contracted at 6.9%, year-on-year.