TOKYO (Feb 5): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures cut early falls to close slightly lower on Monday as the dollar recovered the 110 yen level on the back of upbeat US jobs data and as Shanghai futures eked out small gains, brokers said.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, fell as much as 1.7%, hurt by an extended decline in oil prices and big losses in global equities.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for July delivery finished 0.2 yen lower at 196.7 yen (US$1.79) per kg, after hitting an intraday low of 193.6 yen, which was not far from the last week’s two-month low.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 40 yuan to finish at 13,055 yuan (US$2,073) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 148.40 US cents per kg, down 0.7 cents.
(US$1 = 110.0300 yen)
(US$1 = 6.2964 Chinese yuan)
