TOKYO (Sept 8): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended up 1.3% on Thursday, tracking gains in Shanghai futures as Chinese trade data topped forecasts and imports recorded their first rise in nearly two years.
China’s imports unexpectedly rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, boosted by coal and other commodities, suggesting domestic demand may be picking up and putting the world’s second-largest economy on a more balanced footing.
China’s natural and synthetic rubber imports rose 17.5% from a year ago to 470,000 tonnes, Chinese trade data showed on Thursday.
“There are signs that Chinese domestic demand is strengthening,” said a source with a Tokyo-based broker.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery <0#2JRU:> finished 2 yen higher at 158.1 yen (US$1.56) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for January delivery rose 210 yuan to finish at 12,775 yuan (US$1,917) per tonne. The Shanghai benchmark has regained 6.4% from a three-month low hit on Aug. 31.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 131.2 US cents per kg, up 0.5 cent.
(US$1 = 101.6400 yen)
(US$1 = 6.6645 Chinese yuan)
