TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures fell on Thursday, paring gains from the previous two sessions, after the yen found some stability following a few sessions of volatile trade as the outcome of a Bank of Japan policy meeting loomed.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for July delivery <0#2JRU:> was trading at 330.1 yen per kg as of 0047 GMT, down 2.0 yen, or 0.6 percent, from the previous close.
* Last week, a fall in the yen versus the U.S. dollar helped the contract rise as far as 337.8 yen, the highest for any benchmark since late March 2012.
* The dollar stood at around 93.26 yen, not far off a 33-month peak around 94.47 set on Monday.
* There was likely to be volatility in the Japanese currency in the run-up to a G20 summit starting Friday given its steep decline had drawn criticism from some of Japan’s international peers.
* The BOJ is expected to keep monetary policy steady on Thursday, but may revise up its assessment of the economy.
* Markets in China are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday.
* Japan’s economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter in October-December, government data showed on Thursday, defying a market forecast of a small expansion.
* U.S. President Barack Obama wants Congress to create a $2 billion clean-energy transportation fund using fees paid by oil and gas producers on federal lands, the White House said Wednesday, expanding a plan announced in Obama’s State of the Union address.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares steadied on Thursday as investors awaited the G20 meeting over the weekend for clues to their views about global growth and the role currencies play in the economies of member countries.
* U.S. crude futures edged up to stay above $97 a barrel on Thursday, paring a 0.5 percent decline a day earlier, helped by hopes for oil demand growth after a Reuters poll showed that the euro zone is slowly starting to emerge from recession.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on February 14, 2013 (yen / kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Feb 2013 |
312.0 |
311.0 |
311.1 |
310.0 |
310.0 |
-2.0 |
37 |
|
Mar 2013 |
311.6 |
311.3 |
311.3 |
310.0 |
310.3 |
-1.3 |
23 |
|
Apr 2013 |
317.2 |
316.4 |
316.4 |
315.2 |
315.6 |
-1.6 |
14 |
|
May 2013 |
322.1 |
321.7 |
322.0 |
319.8 |
320.4 |
-1.7 |
67 |
|
Jun 2013 |
327.3 |
327.3 |
327.5 |
324.7 |
326.1 |
-1.2 |
82 |
|
Jul 2013 |
332.1 |
332.2 |
332.4 |
329.5 |
330.5 |
-1.6 |
955 |
|
Total |
|
1,17 |
|||||
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: (GMT)
N/A Bank of Japan announces policy decision
0630 France Q4 GDP
0700 Germany Q4 GDP
0900 Italy Q4 GDP
1000 Euro zone Q4 GDP
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claim
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
