TOKYO (Sept 26): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures edged lower on Tuesday, coming under pressure from a stronger yen against the dollar, brokers said.
The yen stood tall on Tuesday on the back of renewed tensions over the Korean peninsula amid an escalating war of words between North Korea and Washington.
A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures for new March delivery made a debut at 216.2 yen, and hit their highest in nearly a week at 217 yen.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for new March delivery finished 0.2 yen lower than its initial price to settle at 216 yen (US$1.93) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 40 yuan to finish at 14,625 yuan (US$2,209) per tonne.
China’s natural rubber imports rose 6% to 197,498 tonnes last month from a year earlier, official customs data showed on Tuesday.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 152.70 US cents per kg, down 0.4 cent.
(US$1 = 6.6211 Chinese yuan)
(US$1 = 111.6600 yen)
