TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures rose 2 percent on Friday on the back of higher overnight oil prices and are set to post the biggest weekly gain in four months on the back of a weaker yen against the dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: rose 3.3 yen to 160.2 yen per kg by 0005 GMT, after settling down 0.8 yen on Thursday.
The contract, which rose as high as 161.7 yen in overnight trading, is set for a weekly gain of around 9 percent, the sharpest gain since the week ended March 4, after touching a near five-month low of 145.9 yen a week ago.
Japan’s Asahi Kasei (JP3111200006) is investing 5 billion yen ($47.6 million) and plans to boost annual production capacity of solution-styrene butadiene rubber in Singapore by 30 percent, by the latter half of 2018, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.
MARKET NEWS
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 105.07 yen JPY= , compared with around 105.54 yen on Thursday afternoon, and was up sharply from around 100.66 yen a week go. FRX/
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 was up 1.7 percent. MKTS/GLOB
Copper and some other base metal prices trimmed gains on Thursday, after the Bank of England failed to cut interest rates as expected, although investors still hoped for top metals consumer China to give more stimulus to its economy.
Oil prices rose 2 percent on Thursday as traders covered short positions a day after crude futures were hammered by data showing weak U.S.fuel demand in a busy summer driving season that heightened fears about a global oil glut.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
0900 Euro Zone Inflation, Final June
1230 U.S. CPI June
1230 U.S. Real weekly earnings June
1230 U.S. NY Fed Manufacturing July
1230 U.S. Retail Sales June
1315 U.S. Industrial Output June
1400 U.S. Business Inventories May
1400 U.S. U Mich Sentiment Prelim July
1430 U.S. ECRI Weekly Index
($1 = 105.0300 yen)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)
