TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell about 2 percent on Thursday, dragged down by the dollar falling below 99 yen and further weakness in Japanese share prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery was trading 1.6 percent lower at 253 yen as of 0026 GMT.
* The contract earlier fell as low as 251.2 yen, a level last seen on June 3.Earlier this week, a rise in the dollar above 100 yen helped the contract to rise as high as 262.3 yen.
* A higher yen lowers yen-based TOCOM prices, even though dollar-based prices in rubber producing countries stay little changed, and often invites speculative selling.
* Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports as of May 20 fell to 14,881 tonnes, down 756 tonnes over a 10-day period to a two-month low, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed.
* U.S. job growth probably picked up only slightly in May, suggesting the economy is still in a rut and not ready for the Federal Reserve to dial back its monetary support. Jobs data is due on Friday.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Thursday, June 06, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Jun 2013 |
248.5 |
248.0 |
248.5 |
243.5 |
243.9 |
-4.6 |
26 |
|
Jul 2013 |
250.4 |
250.9 |
251.0 |
246.0 |
247.2 |
-3.2 |
11 |
|
Aug 2013 |
252.7 |
251.6 |
251.6 |
247.7 |
249.4 |
-3.3 |
38 |
|
Sep 2013 |
252.9 |
252.3 |
254.0 |
248.0 |
250.8 |
-2.1 |
133 |
|
Oct 2013 |
255.1 |
254.7 |
256.1 |
249.5 |
251.7 |
-3.4 |
448 |
|
Nov 2013 |
257.0 |
256.8 |
258.2 |
251.2 |
253.3 |
-3.7 |
2,779 |
|
Total |
 |
3,435 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* The yen was sharply higher on Thursday as a rout in Japanese stocks forced investors out of popular carry trades, while commodity currencies were under fierce pressure with the Australian dollar wallowing at 19-month lows.
* Japan’s Nikkei share average dropped below 13,000 for the first time in two months on Thursday following disappointing U.S. private jobs data, extending the Japanese index’s 18 percent slide from a 5-1/2 year peak hit last month.
* U.S. oil held gains from the previous day on Thursday, supported a steep fall in U.S. crude stocks and import declines, but caution remains over the strength of demand and a key jobs report later in the week.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)
1000 Germany Industrial orders
1100 Bank of England policy decision
1145 European Central Bank policy decision
1230 ECB’s Mario Draghi holds news conference
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Ed Davies)
Source: Reuters
