TOKYO (April 20): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures on Thursday ended higher to snap four consecutive sessions of declines as market participants went bargain-hunting after the contract hit a five-month low.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, recovered after falling as much as 2.5% earlier in the session, getting support from a jump in the nearest-month contract ahead of the expiry on Monday.
“The nearest month contract stabilised after recent heavy selling ahead of the expiry, leading to the gains in benchmark TOCOM contract,” said a Tokyo-based dealer. “But the nearest month contract may still have some more room for decline.”
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery finished 0.1 yen higher at 203.1 yen (US$1.86) per kg after touching a five-month low of 198 yen early in the day.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 470 yuan to finish at 14,800 yuan (US$2,150) per tonne, after hovering close to a seven-month low hit in the previous session.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 155.5 US cents per kg, up 3.7 US cents.
(US$1 = 6.8850 Chinese yuan)
(US$1 = 109.0400 yen)
