TOKYO (April 20): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended up 2.1% at an eight-month high on Wednesday supported by strong Shanghai futures as a slide in oil prices that pared most of the previous day’s gains did little to dent market sentiment, sources said.
“TOCOM followed overnight gains in Shanghai futures, and despite the oil price decline, the market momentum remained positive,” said a source with a Tokyo-based dealer. “Today’s gains suggest a sign of improved market sentiment, but there’s no clear change in market supply/demand picture.”
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery <0#2JRU:> finished 3.9 yen higher at 193.8 yen per kg, the highest close since Aug. 14, 2015. It hit an intraday high of 198 yen, the highest since Aug 11 last year.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for September delivery rose 495 yuan to finish at 13,170 yuan (US$2,037) per tonne.
Crude futures fell on Wednesday after Kuwaiti oil workers ended a three-day strike that had cut the nation’s crude output by around half, with worries about an oversupplied market returning to the fore.
The US dollar was trading at around 108.89 yen, little changed from Tuesday afternoon.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 153.50 US cents per kg, up 3.3 cents.
(US$1 = 6.4661 Chinese yuan)
