TOKYO (July 24): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 3.4 percent, the steepest decline in two weeks, dragged lower by weak Shanghai futures following sluggish Chinese factory activity data.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, also came under pressure from oil prices closing at their lowest in months a day earlier.
China’s factory sector contracted by the most in 15 months in July as shrinking orders depressed output, a preliminary private survey showed on Friday, a worse-than-expected result that comes on the heels of a stock market crash which began in June.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery finished 7.3 yen lower at 208.6 yen per kg. The benchmark contract, which fell to as much as 208.4 yen earlier, the lowest since July 16, posted a weekly decline of 2.9 percent, the sharpest fall in two weeks.
“The circuit breaker was triggered on selling by Chinese participants,” said a source with a Tokyo-based broker. “Volume-wise, Tokyo players have no leading role on prices as Shanghai markets are vastly larger.”
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 520 yuan to finish at 12,720 yuan per tonne.
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 123.86 yen, compared with around 123.80 yen on Thursday afternoon.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 141.8 U.S. cents per kg, down 5.7 cents.
