TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures slid on Tuesday, as investors booked profits after oil prices extended losses and the dollar wallowed around two-week lows against the yen on continued bets on a slow path of Federal Reserve rate rises.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was down 0.6 yen, or 0.3 percent, at 177.8 yen ($1.60) per kg as of 0121 GMT, after rising 1.6 yen the previous day. RUB/T
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai rubber futures exchange for September delivery SNRcv1 was up 140 yuan, or 1.2 percent, at 11,560 yuan ($1,784.61) per tonne in early Tuesday trade.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Monday warned that the interest rate futures market could be “too pessimistic”, noting external risks to the U.S.economy seemed to be abating.
New orders for U.S.factory goods fell in February and business spending on capital goods was much weaker than initially thought, the latest indications that economic growth remained sluggish in the first quarter.
German car sales were flat in March, the country’s main industry association said on Monday, marking the first month in almost a year that sales volumes did not grow in Europe’s biggest auto market.
MARKET NEWS
Crude oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Tuesday on signs of weakening gasoline demand, long a pillar of support for struggling fuel markets, in both North America and Asia.
The U.S. dollar shed about 0.2 percent to 111.13 JPY= , after retracing the overnight low of 111.10.A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) slipped 1.6 percent in early trade on Tuesday, pressured by losses on Wall Street against a backdrop of slumping crude oil prices and mixed messages on the outlook for U.S.monetary policy.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial orders Feb
0755 Germany Markit services PMI Mar
0800 Euro zone Markit services PMI final Mar
0900 Euro zone Retail sales Feb
1230 U.S. International trade Feb
1400 U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI Mar
($1 = 110.8900 yen)
($1 = 6.4776 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Richard Pullin)
