TOKYO (March 30): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 1% on Thursday, erasing early gains and reflecting weak Shanghai futures, which stood not far from a multiple-month low as market participants said supply worries eased.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, hit a three-day high in early trade but gradually lost ground. Supply worries eased somewhat after data showed that rubber inventories at TOCOM-approved warehouses rose to 1,571 tonnes as of March 20 from a 6½-year low hit 10 days earlier.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery finished 2.5 yen lower at 241.5 yen (US$2.18) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 195 yuan to finish at 16,300 yuan (US$2,365) per tonne, close to a 4½-month low of 15,980 yuan hit on Monday.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 175.1 US cents per kg, down 5.7 US cents.
(US$1 = 111.0300 yen)
(US$1 = 6.8923 Chinese yuan)
