TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended steady on Monday in light trade, with investors staying on the sidelines as Chinese markets remained shut for the National Day holiday and yen traded steady. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for March delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 0.1 yen higher at 163.4 yen ($1.61) per kg. “Trading volume was really low as investors had little appetite to trade today as Chinese players were away,” said Satoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities.
The TOCOM futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, rose to a four-month high of 170.9 yen late last month, but have fallen since then as investors booked profits. “The rubber market is expected to stay in a tight trading range this week although the benchmark may try a 170-yen mark again if the yen drops sharply,” Yoshida said.
The yen was steady against the U.S. dollar at 101.38 yen JPY= .A weaker yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable when purchased in other currencies.
Japanese stocks rose on Monday as global risk asset markets took heart from easing concerns over the health of Deutsche Bank, triggering a relief bounce in financial sector shares. .T Brent crude prices steadied above $50 a barrel on Monday, supported by a planned production cut by exporter club OPEC, but was still under pressure from an overhang in supply that currently exceeds consumption. O/R The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for November delivery STFc1 last traded at 136.4 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.4 cent.
($1 = 101.3900 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
