TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures inched down on Monday as a higher dollar after strong U.S.jobs data weighed on commodity prices, sending the contract down to near a 6-year low hit the previous week.
FUNDAMENTALS
- The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: had fallen 1.1 yen, or 0.7 percent, to 154.0 yen per kg by 0050 GMT, after booking a fourth straight weekly decline. RUB/T
- It earlier slid as far as 153.6 yen, nearing last week’s trough of 153.0 yen which marked the lowest since July 2009.
- U.S.nonfarm payrolls rose 271,000 last month, far exceeding the 180,000 new jobs for October economists polled by Reuters had predicted.
- Following the report, 15 of 17 primary dealers, the banks that deal with the U.S.Federal Reserve directly, said they expect it to raise rates at its next meeting in December, according to a Reuters poll.
- China’s trade figures disappointed analyst expectations by a wide margin in October, reinforcing views that the world’s second-largest economy will have to do more to stimulate domestic demand given softness in overseas markets.Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the ShanghaiFutures Exchange fell 0.2 percent from prior Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
MARKET NEWS
- The U.S. dollar gained on its Japanese counterpart, adding 0.1 percent to 123.25 JPY= , after rising as high as 123.35 earlier in the Asian session, its highest since late August, as robust U.S.employment data prompted more investors to bet on an interest rate increase by year this year.
- Oil prices fell as much as 2 percent on Friday, posting their third weekly decline in four. O/R
- Copper slid below $5,000 a tonne on Friday as the dollar rallied on buoyant U.S. jobs data that boosted the chances that U.S.interest rates would rise for the first time in almost a decade.
- Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) jumped 1.5 percent in Monday trade after robust U.S.jobs data bolstered expectations of a Fed interest rate hike in December.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Monday: (Time in GMT)
- 0700 Germany Trade data Sep
- 0930 Euro zone Sentix index Nov
- 1500 U.S. Employment trends Nov
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
