Asian rubber settled lower Monday due to mounting fears of a possible Greek exit from the eurozone after the country voted “no” in Sunday’s referendum on creditors’ demands.
Benchmark December natural rubber on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange settled 1.8% lower at Y215.3 ($1.75) a kilogram as the Greek vote sent investors to the safe-haven Japanese yen, which gained against the U.S. dollar.
Nonetheless, the Japanese exchange still outperformed natural rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which settled 2.9% lower amid volatility in the broader Chinese markets.
“I think market is feeling that Shanghai is oversold, so investors on Tocom are not following suit,” said a dealer in Singapore.
Traders said that Monday’s jitters were widespread and broad-based as the eurozone was a major rubber buyer, so any contagion effect from Greece’s move might shake fundamentals for the commodity’s market. Overall sentiment was cautious as prices have been rocked numerous times in past years on eurozone fears and were already at a depressed level.
December Tocom rubber closed Y0.5 lower at Y214.8/kg in the night session, which is considered part of the next trading day.
Asian Rubber Futures
July 06 Change from previous close
Tocom Dec RSS3 Y215.3/Kg Down Y3.9
Shanghai Sep SCR5 CNY12,945/Ton Down CNY390
Thai Feb RSS3 THB57.35/kg Down THB1.25
Sicom Aug RSS3 167.0 U.S. Cents/Kg Down 3.7 Cents
Sicom Aug TSR20 149.4 U.S. Cents/Kg Down 2.9 Cents
Asian Physical Rubber
USS July HB50.86-THB51.14/Kg THB50.85-THB51.42/Kg
