Laid side by side today, the four contracts moved to completely different beats. Fuel oil rose 2.0% to ¥4,529, bitumen fell 1.13% to ¥5,259, natural rubber jumped 3.76% to ¥20,980, and butadiene rubber gained 2.6% to ¥16,795.

The split decides which trading method pays. High-amplitude contracts with a clear direction let basis trade — screen pricing plus physical delivery — capture the convergence between futures and spot, and receipt-backed financing is welcomed by banks because the collateral moves fast and turns over quickly.

Low-amplitude contracts with stable discounts are better left to fixed-long-term pricing; the trader gains nothing betting on a basis that barely moves. Bitumen diverged from fuel oil today, but both track infrastructure and bonded demand with bounded volatility, so basis trading there is less attractive than in rubber.

SNSUC pipes all thirteen categories — seven re-export crude grades, fuel oil, bitumen, base oil, paraffin, petroleum coke, natural rubber, butadiene rubber — into one real-time market backbone. Traders open a screen and compare volatility and basis depth across chains. The data is there to decide where the money goes, not to look good.