TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures extended gains on Tuesday and hit a one-week high but the gains were limited as Shanghai futures trimmed their strong gains earlier in the day after China’s yuan rose to a near three-week high. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, hit a one-week high of 243.4 yen in early morning trade, near a 1-1/2-year high of 245.6 yen hit on Nov.29.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 0.7 yen higher at 240.4 yen ($2.11) per kg. A flood of data from China in coming weeks is expected to show the economy continued to grow at a steady pace in November, with inflation quickening and credit expanding at a faster pace despite concerns about rising debt, a Reuters poll showed.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery SNRcv1 rose 260 yuan to finish at 18,565 yuan ($2,700) per tonne after gaining about 3 percent to hit a one-week high earlier in the session, as strong yuan hurt the sentiment. “A stronger yuan hurt Shanghai futures, which also weighed on TOCOM,” said a Tokyo-based broker.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for January delivery STFc1 last traded at 171.50 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.1 cent.
($1 = 114.0300 yen) ($1 = 6.8772 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
