TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures swung between gains and losses on Thursday, as oil prices hit 2016 highs while lingering concerns over slow demand in top buyer China weighed on sentiment.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was down 0.4 yen, or 0.3 percent, at 155.9 yen ($1.46) per kg as of 0054 GMT, after hitting a high of 157.8 yen earlier in the session.
China’s exports fell more than expected in May as globaldemand remained stubbornly weak.
Vehicle sales in China climbed 11.4 percent in May from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Wednesday.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.2 percent from last Friday, the bourse said on Wednesday.
China’s markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat festival holiday.
Japan’s core machinery orders tumbled 11.0 percent in April from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed on Thursday, in a sign that business investment is contracting. urn:newsml:reuters.com:
MARKET NEWS
Crude futures rose on Wednesday, hitting 2016 highs above $50 a barrel and settling up for a third straight day on worries about sabotage of oil facilities in Nigeria, although a build in U.S.gasoline stocks amid peak summer demand could pressure prices.
The U.S. dollar traded at 106.73 yen JPY= , stuck near a one-month low of 106.35 hit on Monday in the wake of the weaker-than-expected U.S.jobs report.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 fell 0.8 percent despite an overnight gain in Wall Street. MKTS/GLOB
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)
- 0130 China Consumer prices May
- 0130 China Producer prices May
- 0600 Germany Trade data Apr
- 1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
- 1400 U.S. Wholesale inventories Apr
($1 = 106.6600 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
