TOKYO (March 19): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell to a one-week low on Monday, dragged by a decline in Shanghai futures and bulging inventories at consumer nations.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been weighed down by stockpiles in Japan climbing to a more than three-year high despite an ongoing curb in exports by a group of the world’s top three rubber producers.
“Stockpiles in Japan are of good quality, and excess inventories have been building up, weighing on the market,” said a Japanese industry source.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery finished 0.8 yen lower at 191 yen (US$1.81) per kg after hitting 189.3 yen, the lowest since March 12.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 135 yuan to finish at 12,510 yuan (US$1,977) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 144.5 US cents per kg, up 0.1 cent.
(US$1 = 105.7400 yen)
(US$1 = 6.3286 Chinese yuan)
