TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures extended gains for a third session on Friday and are set for a weekly gain of about 5 percent on the back of a measure by Thailand to help farmers by buying the commodity at above-market prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: rose 0.5 yen to 157.8 yen per kg by 0018 GMT, after settling up 2.3 yen on Thursday. The contract, which hit an intraday high of 158.4 yen, the highest since Jan.4, is set for a weekly gain of around 5 percent.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, hit a seven-year low on Tuesday, but have since recovered some 9 percent, helped by the Thai measure.
MARKET NEWS
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 118.22 yen JPY= , compared with around 117.86 yen on Thursday afternoon.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 was up 1.4 percent.
Copper bounced after hitting fresh 6-1/2-year lows on Thursday following a rebound in the oil price gave pause to investors’ worries about the state of the global economy.
Oil rebounded on Thursday, snapping an eight-day rout, as investors covered short positions but the market settled not far from 12-year lows on worries Iran may add barrels to a glutted global market sooner than expected. O/R
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
1000 Euro zone Eurostat trade Nov
1330 U.S. New York Fed manufacturing Jan
1330 U.S. Retail sales Dec
1415 U.S. Industrial output Dec
1455 U.S. Univ of Michigan sentiment index Jan
1500 U.S. Business inventories Nov
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)
