TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures climbed on Wednesday as investors unwound short positions following gains in Shanghai futures and on hopes for Thailand’s efforts to support prices.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished 1.4 yen higher at 214.3 yen ($1.93) per kg, moving away from a one-week low of 206.5 yen hit early Tuesday.
“Investors bought back as the market quickly bounced back from the recent lows and on the back of stronger Shanghai market,” said a Tokyo-based dealer.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 220 yuan to finish at 16,265 yuan ($2,430) per tonne.
“Thailand’s measures to help bolster prices and some concerns over a potential impact from the recent floods in the producing country were also behind the rally,” he said.
Asia’s top rubber producers will meet in Thailand in September, an official at Thailand’s rubber authority said on Wednesday, with export curbs to help boost prices likely to be on the agenda.
In July, Thailand’s rubber authority joined hands with five major Thai rubber exporters to create a rubber company with starting capital of 1.2 billion baht ($36 million) and the new company started to buy rubber in the domestic market to help support domestic rubber prices.
On top of that, the Thai government set aside 17 billion baht last month to buy domestic rubber and concentrated latex to support local prices.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 153.5 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.7 cents.
($1 = 110.9000 yen)
($1 = 33.3100 baht)
($1 = 6.6930 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO, Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in BANGKOK; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
