Feb 2011:
We have been seeing large increase on the world market for Natural Rubber (as a traded commodity).
In July 2010 the price was $3.29 per kilo. By December 2010 this had risen to $4.75 per kilo and in January 2011 to $4.94 per kilo - a staggering 50% up since last July !
This has had an effect on synthetic rubbers also, as demand for product increases from China and in the UK some rubber suppliers have increased prices by 25% during 2011.
The long-term forecast is that prices will probably continue this upward trend, and we expect there to be further increases during 2012 (initial reports for January are between 5% and 12% on certain polymers)
Some suppliers will try to counter this by reducing the amount of costly rubber compounds used in their mixes, and adding more 'fillers' - unfortunately this can seriously affect the quality of the rubber product supplied.
Unfortunately, to maintain quality standards, the only option most suppliers will have is to increase their selling price - while demand from the emerging countries continues to increase, this seems to be the only option.
Therefore, our prices will reflect global trends - we do not grow our own rubber trees in the UK, and most of our synthetic polymers are imported - so prices are dictated by World markets.
Where price savings can be made, we will drop prices to everyone, but in the same way, as prices increase, these will be reflected on our web-site.
So, please check our prices on a regular basis - especially if you have long-term projects, as prices shown today, could be different in the near future !