TOKYO, March 29 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures fell more than 1 percent on Friday, unsettled by demand concerns over the problems in the euro zone economy after the Cyprus bailout, with the benchmark September contract on track for a 7 percent loss this month.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery was trading down 1.2 percent at 271.5 yen per kg as of 0028 GMT.
* The TOCOM market touched a three-month low of 269.5 yen on March 18 after reaching 303.3 yen on March 11, the highest since Feb. 21.
* The market is poised to end March about 7 percent lower and the quarter about 10 percent down.
* Japan’s factory output unexpectedly dipped in February and a fourth consecutive drop in core consumer prices underscored the challenges the central bank faces in engineering economic recovery and achieving its 2 percent inflation target.
* Thailand, the world’s biggest rubber producer and exporter, will continue cutting exports for another two months after a scheme agreed with Indonesia and Malaysia expires at the end of March, a senior government official said on Thursday.
* China shares suffered their worst loss in nearly a month on Thursday, as Hong Kong closed out the first quarter on a tepid note, with banks sinking after Chinese regulators ordered more transparency on wealth management products.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on March 29, 2013 (yen / kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Apr 2013 |
260.4 |
260.0 |
260.0 |
257.9 |
258.6 |
-1.8 |
10 |
|
May 2013 |
264.1 |
263.3 |
263.5 |
261.0 |
261.0 |
-3.1 |
26 |
|
Jun 2013 |
266.5 |
266.4 |
266.4 |
264.0 |
264.0 |
-2.5 |
38 |
|
Jul 2013 |
269.8 |
269.7 |
269.7 |
266.0 |
266.2 |
-3.6 |
359 |
|
Aug 2013 |
272.4 |
272.0 |
272.5 |
268.0 |
269.6 |
-2.8 |
1,973 |
|
Sep 2013 |
274.9 |
275.0 |
275.0 |
270.1 |
272.0 |
-2.9 |
3,124 |
|
Total |
|
5,53 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar traded at around 94.25 yen in early Asian trade on Friday, near a three-week low below 94 yen marked earlier this week.
* Japan’s Nikkei share average opened up 0.56 percent on Friday.
* Crude futures rose on Thursday, the last session of the first quarter, in choppy trading with stronger Wall Street equities and a weaker dollar supporting dollar-denominated oil prices.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
0500 Japan Construction orders
0500 Japan Housing starts
0745 France Consumer spending
0745 France Producer prices
0900 Italy Producer prices
1230 U.S. Personal income
1930 U.S. CFTC commitment of traders data
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Ed Davies)
Source: Reuters
