TOKYO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures rebounded on Monday, heading back towards a 16-month high hit last week, buoyed by stronger oil prices and a weaker yen against the U.S.dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was up 2.8 yen, or 1.3 percent, at 212.3 yen ($1.92) per kg as of 0027 GMT, after falling 1.7 percent on Friday. It hit its highest since July 2015 at 217.1 yen last Thursday and gained 1.9 percent for the week. RUB/T
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to open the economy further on Saturday as leaders of Asia-Pacific countries sought new free-trade options following Donald Trump’s election to U.S.president on promises to scrap or renegotiate trade deals.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2 percent from the prior Friday, the bourse said late last week.
Volkswagen (VLKPF) and its labour unions agreed to cut 30,000 jobs at the core VW brand in exchange for a commitment to avoid forced redundancies in Germany until 2025, a compromise which leaves the carmaker’s profitability still lagging rivals.
MARKET NEWS
Oil prices settled higher on Friday, closing out a strong week that saw crude buoyed by growing expectations that OPEC will find a way to cap production at the end of the month.
The dollar was quoted around 110.83 yen JPY= on Monday, after hitting 111.12 yen JPY= , its highest since May 31, earlier in the session.
By Friday, the yen had gained 7.3 percent in two weeks, its steepest such gain since January 1988 and its second-strongest performance in the era of floating exchange rates.A weaker yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable when purchased in other currencies.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) edged higher on Monday after the U.S.tech- and biotech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit a record intraday high on Friday, while the Dow industrials and S&P 500 were also near record highs despite the day’s decline.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Monday: (Time in GMT)
1330 U.S. National activity index Oct
($1 = 110.8300 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
