TOKYO (Oct 10): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a one-and-a-half-week low on Tuesday as Shanghai futures turned lower in afternoon trade and stayed close to a three-month low.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, extended declines in the afternoon as Shanghai futures turned weaker, brokers said.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery finished 5.4 yen lower at 201.8 yen (US$1.79) per kg after hitting 200.4 yen, the lowest since Sept 29. Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a national holiday.
Rubber inventories at TOCOM warehouses stood at 2,705 tonnes as of Sept 30, down from 2,836 tonnes on Sept 20, according to the bourse.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 25 yuan to finish at 13,315 yuan (US$2,019) per tonne, staying not far from a three-month low.
China will have no problem meeting its economic growth target of around 6.5% this year, and may even beat it, the head of the Statistics Bureau said on Tuesday, confirming widespread market expectations.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 144.90 US cents per kg, down 0.8 cents.
(US$1 = 112.6300 yen)
(US$1 = 6.5951 Chinese yuan)
