In the world rubber market, there had not been such a chance in years to make a fast buck—nor so many speculators trying to make it. Natural rubber began getting scarce last winter just as booming auto production stepped up the demand for tires. Synthetic rubber production slumped as the coal strike cut the supply of styrene, a vital coal-tar derivative.

As natural rubber prices rose, Indonesian growers hoarded their rubber; they not only distrusted their drastically devalued native currency (TIME, March 27), but they thought the price of rubber might go even higher. It did. Natural rubber bounced from 15¼¢ a lb. on the New York futures market last October to 34½¢ this month, a 22-year record, and forced tiremakers to boost prices.

That moved the State Department into action. Last week the department told Indonesia and other rubber producers that the U.S. is increasing its production of 18½¢-a-lb. synthetic rubber by 85%, expects to be turning out 420,000 tons a year by July.

The rubber growers got the point. In two consecutive days last week, rubber futures dropped the full legal limit of 2¢ a Ib. on the New York Commodity Exchange. Indonesian growers scurried to unload, spurred on by the added news that their government plans to slap a stiff 5¢-a-lb. tax on rubber exports after July 1. At week's end, New York rubber futures had leveled off at 28.9¢. With this year's natural rubber production now estimated at 140,000 tons in excess of world consumption, most traders thought that even lower prices were ahead.

Oh please do continue...