TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures fell slightly on Tuesday, after rising for a fifth straight day to hit the highest in more than two weeks the day before, hurt by industry data that showed a rise in rubber inventories at Japanese ports.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery traded 1.8 yen lower at 299.3 yen as of 0043 GMT. On Monday, the benchmark contract rose as high as 303.3 yen, the highest since Feb. 21 on the back of a weaker yen.
* Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports rose by 421 tonnes in the eight days to Feb. 28 to an eight-month high of 11,363 tonnes, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Monday.
* But the declines were limited due to a weaker yen. The yen carved out a fresh 3-1/2 year low versus the greenback on Tuesday as investors reacted to a media report that the Bank of Japan might deliver bold stimulus sooner than expected.
A weaker yen in theory inflates yen-based TOCOM prices even if dollar-based prices in rubber producing countries stay the same and often prompts speculative buying.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on March 12, 2013 (yen / kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Mar 2013 |
283.8 |
285.1 |
285.1 |
279.9 |
280.6 |
-3.2 |
56 |
|
Apr 2013 |
286.8 |
285.5 |
287.9 |
283.5 |
285.8 |
-1.0 |
31 |
|
May 2013 |
292.0 |
289.9 |
291.0 |
287.0 |
288.1 |
-3.9 |
42 |
|
Jun 2013 |
295.4 |
294.0 |
294.5 |
290.9 |
292.5 |
-2.9 |
159 |
|
Jul 2013 |
298.4 |
298.3 |
298.3 |
294.1 |
295.5 |
-2.9 |
316 |
|
Aug 2013 |
301.1 |
300.8 |
300.8 |
296.6 |
298.2 |
-2.9 |
2,896 |
|
Total |
|
3,500 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* Wall Street rose modestly on Monday, lifting the Dow to another record and giving the S&P 500 its seventh straight advance as early weakness enticed buyers. The gains briefly lifted the benchmark S&P 500 index to its highest intraday level since October 2007.
* Brent crude oil prices fell on Monday, pressured by disappointing economic data from world No. 2 oil consumer China, while technical support and a dollar pullback limited losses and helped U.S. crude settle slightly higher.
* Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to mark a fresh 4-1/2 year high in early Tuesday trade, on track for a ninth straight day of gains as a softer yen and expectations of monetary easing continued to drive up shares of exporters and financials.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
– 0500 Japan Consumer confidence index
– 0530 India Industrial output
– 1130 U.S. NFIB business optimism index
– 1145 U.S. ICSC weekly chain store sales
– 1255 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales
– 2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ed Davies)
Source: Reuters
