TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose on Tuesday, staging a technical rebound after hitting a three-month low a day earlier, as nerves over the euro zone economy persisted ahead of a parliamentary vote on a bailout plan for debt-laden Cyprus.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for August delivery <0#2JRU:> traded 1.3 percent higher at 274.3 yen per kg as of 0927 GMT, paring a 4.7 percent drop in the previous session.
* The contract on Monday fell as low as 269.5 yen, the lowest since Dec. 14.
* Rubber is currently trading down more than 9 percent from a two-week high of 303.3 yen struck on March 11 on the back of a weaker yen.
* After equity markets had settled for the day on Monday, euro zone ministers urged Cyprus to let smaller savers escape a levy on bank deposits, before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday that will either secure the island’s financial rescue or threaten default.
* Asian investors were relieved to see limited fallout from the Cyprus deal on other euro zone countries so far, with the uptick in Spanish and Italian debt yields contained. However, analysts were guarded about the near term.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on March 19, 2013 (yen / kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Mar 2013 |
256.0 |
259.5 |
261.0 |
258.4 |
258.5 |
+2.5 |
13 |
|
Apr 2013 |
257.6 |
260.0 |
262.6 |
259.7 |
260.2 |
+2.6 |
18 |
|
May 2013 |
261.3 |
261.3 |
266.3 |
261.3 |
264.0 |
+2.7 |
32 |
|
Jun 2013 |
264.8 |
267.0 |
269.8 |
267.0 |
268.1 |
+3.3 |
50 |
|
Jul 2013 |
268.2 |
267.7 |
272.9 |
267.7 |
270.6 |
+2.4 |
200 |
|
Aug 2013 |
270.9 |
270.9 |
275.7 |
270.4 |
273.5 |
+2.6 |
2,723 |
|
Total |
|
3,036 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* The euro licked wounds near three-month lows versus the dollar on Tuesday after a plan to tax bank accounts in Cyprus to help pay for the country’s bailout stoked worries it could threaten the stability of financial institutions in the euro zone.
* Japan’s Nikkei average climbed 1.5 percent in early deals on Tuesday, rebounding after the market had posted its biggest one-day percentage drop in 10 months.
* On Monday, Hong Kong shares tumbled to their lowest close in more than three months, while onshore Chinese markets suffered their worst loss in two weeks, hit by concerns ranging from the euro zone to China’s property and financial sectors.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
0530 India Repo rate
0900 Italy Industrial output yy Jan 2013
1000 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Mar 2013
1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
1230 U.S. Build permits:mm change Dec
1230 U.S. House starts :mm change Dec
1230 U.S. Housing starts number mm Feb
2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks
2030 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks
2030 U.S. API weekly gasoline stk
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Ed Davies)
Source: Reuters
