TOKYO (Sept 9): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended 4% higher on Wednesday, as Japanese equities posted their biggest one-day gain since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 and the yen weakened against the dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei index soared 7.7%, likely up on hopes of corporate tax cuts. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government aims to lower the corporate tax rate by a cumulative 3.3 percentage points over two years through the next fiscal year starting in April 2016.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, ended up for a third straight day, also supported by hopes of more stimulus measures from the Chinese government.
“An equities rally and the dollar/yen gave a jolt (to TOCOM), helped by buy-back that followed short-covering,” said a source with a Tokyo-based broker. “Amid the background of dwindling rubber stockpiles, TOCOM may be headed for some more gains.”
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished 6.7 yen higher at 174.3 yen per kg, after hitting a more than one-week high of 175.4 yen in early morning trade.
The benchmark contract has rebounded 7.1%, after plunging to 162.7 yen on Monday, the lowest since July 16, 2009.
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 120.53 yen, more than 1 yen stronger than Tuesday afternoon, as rallying stock markets gave global investors reasons to throttle down the risk aversion tactics that recently boosted the euro and yen.
A weaker yen makes Japanese currency-denominated assets cheaper when purchased in other currencies.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 165 yuan to finish at 11,625 yuan per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 126 U.S. cents per kg, up 1 cent.
