TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures wiped out early gains to drop 1.2 percent on Tuesday, dragged down by a nearly 3 percent slide in the Shanghai market as investors fretted over China’s economic outlook.
The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery <0#2JRU:> settled down 3.1 yen, or 1.2 percent, at 251.3 yen per kg.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery <0#SNR:> closed down 2.9 percent at 24,115 yuan per tonne, its lowest since Sept. 27.
“Poor economic prospects worry investors in China,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, commodities analyst at trading house Fujitomi Co. “Although some are hoping the market will improve after Beijing’s leadership transition that kicks off next month.”
Recovery prospects for China, whose ruling Communist Party is set to unveil its new leadership next month, are tepid, with data last week showing the country had suffered its slowest three months of growth since the depths of the financial crisis.
The front-month November rubber contract <0#STF:> on SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 281.5 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.7 percent.
The yen hit a three-month low against the dollar and a five-month trough versus the euro on Tuesday on expectations that the Bank of Japan will further loosen monetary conditions to help the export-reliant economy face a global slowdown. A weaker yen boosts the appeal of TOCOM futures to holders of other currencies.
The Nikkei average share index closed up 0.04 percent.
(Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
