TOKYO (Oct 20): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures slipped for a third straight session on Thursday, paring earlier gains to hit a 10-day low, as investors continued to adjust positions from a recent rally.
“Investors have been trying to adjust their positions after the rally since late August,” said Jiong Gu, analyst, Yutaka Shoji Co.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, surged 24%, from Aug 25 low of 148.6 to Monday’s high of 184.6 yen.
The TOCOM rubber contract for March delivery ended down 0.6 yen at 176.1 yen (US$1.70) per kg on Thursday. Earlier in the session, it hit 175.0 yen, the lowest since Oct 11.
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The contract rose to a high of 178.3 yen in an early trade, but it lost ground later on profit-taking, dealers said.
The selling also came as concerns about possible delay in rubber shipment or export from Thailand, after King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death have diminished, Gu said.
The world’s longest-reigning monarch, King Bhumibol died last Thursday in a Bangkok hospital at the age of 88, clouding the economic outlook of the world’s biggest rubber producer.
The most active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 170 yuan to finish at 13,795 yuan (US$2,046.92) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 143.1 U.S. cents per kg, down 3.0 cent.
(US$1 = 6.7394 Chinese yuan)
(US$1 = 103.7000 yen)
