TOKYO (Dec 6): Benchmark Tokyo rubber ended a three-session rally on Wednesday, declining from a two-month high hit the previous day, on profit booking and a plunge in Shanghai futures.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for May delivery finished 4.2 yen or 2.0% lower at 205.2 yen (US$1.83) per kg. On Tuesday, it hit its highest since Sept 28 at 211.1 yen.
“Investors took profits after the benchmark reached a technical milestone,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.
Tuesday’s high represented a half-way recovery from the November low of 187.8 yen to the September high of 234.7 yen, he added.
“But it is not clear whether the market will be headed lower or higher from now,” he said.
On the downside, the most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for May delivery plunged 440 yuan or 3% to finish at 14,330 yuan (US$2,167) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 145.4 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.0 cent.
(US$1 = 112.1500 yen)
(US$1 = 6.6138 Chinese yuan)
