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TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures fell to a nearly one-week low on Monday, weighed down by a drop in oil prices after a meeting by major producers in Qatar fell apart over the weekend and by a jump in the safe-haven yen.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was down 3.4 yen, or 1.8 percent, at 186.9 yen per kg as of 0044 GMT, after booking a 7.5-percent weekly gain. It earlier dipped as far as 185.3 yen, the lowest since April 12. RUB/T
A deal to freeze oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers fell apart on Sunday after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.0 percent from prior Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
China should be flexible in implementing appropriate monetary policy and maintain reasonably ample liquidity, China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said at a meeting in Washington over the weekend.
Toyota Motor Corp (TOYOF) , the world’s biggest-selling automaker, said on Sunday it would suspend much of its production at plants across Japan this week after earthquakes in the country’s south led to a shortage of parts, while some other manufacturers extended stoppages due to damage to factories.
MARKET NEWS
Oil prices tumbled 5 percent early on Monday after a meeting by major producers in Qatar fell apart on Sunday, leaving the world awash with unwanted fuel.
The U.S. dollar came within a whisker of an 18-month trough of 107.63 yen JPY= set recently, before steadying at 108.05. FRX/
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) tanked about 3 percent in Monday trade after Toyota and other Japanese firms suspended some of their productions after a series of deadly earthquakes in the country’s south damaged some facilities or caused supply chain disruptions.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Monday: (Time in GMT)
0130 China House prices Mar
1400 U.S. NAHB housing market index Apr
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
