TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures dropped on Friday after Thailand said it would offload rubber from its stockpiles, putting the contract on track for a weekly loss of about 7 percent.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery was down 2.5 yen, or 1 percent, at 247.5 yen ($2.22) per kg at 0104 GMT. It climbed 1 yen the previous day, having touched its lowest since Dec. 12 at 246.9 yen earlier in the session.
* After the Tokyo market closed on Thursday, Thailand said it would sell 13,000 tonnes of rubber from stockpiles in a state auction, aiming to offload the remaining 107,000 tonnes in stockpiles by the end of May.
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* China’s imports of natural rubber rose 55.4 percent in February from a year earlier, according to customs data.
* When U.S. President Donald Trump announced a review last week of tough Obama-era vehicle emissions and fuel-efficiency standards, he proclaimed that the “assault on the American auto industry is over”.
MARKET NEWS
* The U.S. dollar hovered near a four-month low against the Japanese yen on Thursday ahead of a vote on a U.S. Republican healthcare plan seen as a litmus test of Trump’s ability to pass key policies such as tax cuts through Congress. The dollar was quoted at 111.21 yen on Friday.
* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average was up 0.7 percent on Friday.
* Oil prices dipped on Thursday, stuck near four-month lows because of investor concerns that OPEC-led supply cuts were not yet reducing record U.S. crude inventories.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
0745 France GDP Final Q4
0800 France Markit manufacturing flash PMI Mar
0830 Germany Markit manufacturing flash PMI Mar
0900 Euro zone Markit manufacturing flash PMI Mar
1230 U.S. Durable goods Feb
1445 U.S. Markit manufacturing flash PMI Mar
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at lunch event at
the Brookings Institution to discuss Fed’s recent rate
action and monetary policy
($1 = 111.3100 yen) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
