TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose 1.9 percent on Friday, as buyers emerged after the contract fell almost 8 percent the past three days amid worries over demand in China, but the gains were limited due to high inventories.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for August delivery rose 5.3 yen to settle at 282.9 yen ($2.94) per kg.
The contract hit an intraday high of 284.5 yen, up 2.5 percent, during the session. It had fallen 7.8 percent, or 23.5 yen, in the last three days to hit a three-month low on Thursday at 272.4 yen.
“By yesterday, dumping by market participants subsided, and new buying interests emerged as prices have fallen to decent levels,” said a Tokyo-based broker source who declined to be identified. The source added, however, that high inventories in Shanghai and Japan still weighed on prices.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 5.9 percent from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday after the market closed.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 160 yuan to finish at 23,110 yuan ($3,700) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 276.0 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.9 cents.
($1 = 96.1200 Japanese yen)
($1 = 6.2155 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Source: Reuters
