TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures stood little changed on Friday after hitting a one-week low earlier in the session, remaining on track for a weekly decline.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was down 0.1 yen at 168.4 yen per kg by 0054 GMT, after settling down 4.1 yen on Thursday. The contract, which hit a low of 167.5 yen during night trading, the lowest since Dec.3, is headed for a weekly drop of around 1 percent.
It also stood 3.7 percent below a near two-month high of 174.8 yen hit on Tuesday.
Vehicle sales in China are expected to grow 5-7 percent in 2016, faster than the 3 percent increase anticipated for this year, the head of the nation’s automakers’ association said, thanks to a tax cut for small-engine cars.
MARKET NEWS
Crude oil prices fell 1 percent on Thursday to new lows since 2009 as traders looked beyond a drop in U.S.crude stockpiles to focus on a global supply glut, while a stronger dollar weighed on commodities.
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 121.95 yen JPY= , compared with around 121.75 yen on Thursday afternoon. FRX/
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 was up 0.3 percent.
Aluminium prices stagnated on Thursday on disappointment over the scope of production cutbacks in China, while a firmer dollar also weighed on the industrial metals market.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
– 0700 Germany Wholesale price index Nov
– 1330 U.S. Retail sales Nov
– 1500 U.S. Business inventories Oct
– 1500 U.S. Univ of Michigan sentiment index Dec
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)
