TOKYO (July 18): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended lower on Tuesday after hitting a two-week high earlier, as the market came under pressure from a stronger yen and weak Shanghai futures, brokers said.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, lost early bullish momentum as the US dollar sank to a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies, hobbled by uncertainty over the pace of the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery finished 0.1 yen lower at 201.5 yen (US$1.80) per kg, after hitting 205.4 yen, the highest since July 4.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 60 yuan to finish at 13,460 yuan (US$1,992) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 150.5 US cents per kg, down 0.7 US cent.
(US$1 = 112.1600 yen)
(US$1 = 6.7568 Chinese yuan)
