TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rebounded on Thursday, recovering from a one-week low hit earlier in the day, as short-covering kicked in after the market hit a technical resistance at 156 yen and ahead of U.S.job data due on Friday.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 0.5 yen, or 0.3 percent, higher at 157.7 yen ($1.45) per kg. It earlier fell to a low of 156 yen, the lowest since May 25, as the dollar hit a two-week low against the safe-haven yen, weighed down by uncertainty whether the U.S.Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in June or July.
FRX/ A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies. Japanese stocks, which suffered their biggest daily percentage drop in a month on Thursday hit by a stronger yen, also added to the pressure, dealers said.
.T “But some investors started covering short positions after the benchmark hit a key 156 yen mark,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities. “All eyes will be on the U.S. job data and the yen’s reaction,” he said, predicting the benchmark might try the May low of 154.3 yen if it fell below 156 yen. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery SNRcv1 climbed 115 yuan to finish at 10,445 yuan ($1,587.41) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for July delivery STFc1 last traded at 126.1 U.S. cents per kg, up 2.2 cents.
($1 = 109.0200 yen)
($1 = 6.5799 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
