TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by a weaker yen against the dollar and slight gains in Shanghai futures, brokers said.
The dollar held near a three-month high versus the yen on Wednesday, underpinned by reports of Republican senators’ favouring John Taylor to become the next head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, who may put the Fed on a path of faster interest rate increases than current chair Janet Yellen. A weaker yen makes commodities denominated in the Japanese currency cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery finished 1.2 yen higher at 199.5 yen ($1.75) per kg. Earlier in the session, it hit 202 yen, the highest since Oct. 16.
The front-month contract for October delivery expired on Wednesday, down 6.3 yen at 193 yen.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 45 yuan to finish at 13,535 yuan ($2,038) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded unchanged at 143.30 U.S. cents per kg.
($1 = 113.8700 yen)
($1 = 6.6399 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
