TOKYO (April 14): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 0.8% on Thursday on profit-taking after hitting an eight-month high in the previous session.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, followed oil lower, but the decline was limited by strong gains of Tokyo equities and a weaker yen against the dollar.
Oil fell on Thursday as the International Energy Agency trimmed its forecast for demand growth and on signs that a producers’ meeting this weekend will not yield a concrete plan to reduce oversupply.
“With oil declining, market participants adjusted positions and pocketed profits after a recent gain,” said a source with a Tokyo-based dealer.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery <0#2JRU:> finished 1.5 yen lower at 191.8 yen (US$1.76) per kg, falling from an eight-month peak of 197 yen. It had climbed more than 9% in the past three days.
The US dollar was trading around 109.46 yen, compared with around 108.82 yen a day earlier, and was pulling away from a 17-month trough of 107.63 set a few days ago.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 95 yuan to finish at 12,550 yuan (US$1,935) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 150.60 US cents per kg, up 0.2 cent.
(US$1 = 6.4847 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(US$1 = 109.2200 yen)
