Asia Rubber-Tiremakers snap up Indonesia, Thai grades; Chinese players scarce

* Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin book Indonesia and Thai grades

* SIR20 traded at $1.44-$1.44-1/2 a kg

* Chinese buyers quiet, focus shifts to India

By Anuradha Raghu

March 19 (Reuters) - Leading tyre makers bought Indonesian and Thai-grade rubber this week, although demand was tepid with most buyers keeping to the sidelines, and as Chinese players showed muted interest for physical cargoes, traders said on Thursday.

Bridgestone Corp, Goodyear and Michelin bought the Indonesian SIR20 this week, with Michelin booking May cargoes between $1.44 and $1.44-1/2 per kg on Wednesday, according a trader in Indonesia.

Cargoes for June were offered at $1.44-1/2 to $1.45 a kg, but buyers were only willing to pay $1.44 a kg. The Indonesian RSS1 grade was traded between $1.70 a kg and $1.74 a kg.

"Some buyers are not so keen to buy rubber at the moment. They prefer to wait and see where the market will go," said a Sumatran-based trader.

"Nobody wants it to go higher, in fact, some people are trying to make it go lower. But it will be difficult to buy if the market goes lower again," the Sumatran-based trader said.

Last week rubber growers in No.2 producer Indonesia held off from selling big volumes amid softer prices, forcing Chinese buyers to seek cheaper cargoes elsewhere.

This week, Chinese buyers were scarce in the market, rubber dealers in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia said. A slowing economy in the world's top rubber importer has hurt industrial demand, prompting investors to scale back purchases of raw materials.

"China is still quiet. They do buy some, but they're not as aggressive as before," said a Thai dealer. "The major customers only buy what they really need. It seems like they're waiting for the market go to lower."

The Thai tire grade RSS3 was sold overnight at $1.74-1/2 for the June-July shipments, with customers including major tyre makers. The Thai STR20 grade was untraded, offered at $1.48 to $1.49-1/2 a kg.

While demand from China grows tepid, traders are now shifting attention to key buyer India.

"We're monitoring India closely. Looks like quarter-on-quarter demand is picking up, maybe because of the new government policy," said a Malaysia-based trader.

"There's some strong demand coming for its tire industry, and Indian buyers are coming to the market quite aggressively."

Benchmark rubber futures in Japan were trading at 210.8 yen per kg on Thursday, pulling up from five-week lows of 203.5 yen ($2) hit on March 11.

The price fell more than 5 percent so far in March, after surging 13 percent in February in what was its biggest monthly gain since December 2012. (Editing by Anand Basu)