TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 0.8 percent on Wednesday after hitting a near 6-1/2 month high earlier in the session, as the dollar tanked against the yen with global financial markets rattled by the prospect of a shock win for Republican Donald Trump in the fiercely-contested U.S.election.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, reversed their gains in the afternoon as the dollar fell to 102.35 yen from around 104.98 yen in the morning. USD/ “The strong yen helped the market lower, though Shanghai futures did not come under much pressure form the prospects of Trump presidency,” a Tokyo-based broker said.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 1.5 yen lower at 188.3 yen per kg, after touching an intraday high of 197.3 yen, the highest since April 28. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery SNRcv1 rose 485 yuan to finish at 15,290 yuan ($2,259) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery STFc1 last traded at 157.40 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.8 cent.
($1 = 6.7688 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)