Rubber traded near the lowest level in four months as better-than-expected U.S. factory orders weighed against growing concern that demand from China, the biggest user, will slow.
The contract for delivery in September rose as much as 1.5 percent to 265 yen a kilogram ($2,830 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and was at 262 yen at 11:40 a.m. Futures settled at the lowest in four months yesterday, after passing the threshold into a bear market on April 1.
Orders placed with U.S. factories rose the most in five months in February, boosted by a pickup in demand for motor vehicles and commercial aircraft, a Commerce Department report showed yesterday. Stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed to 117,696 tons, the highest in over three years, the bourse said March 29.
“The U.S. data showed recovery signs,” Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co. commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co. “However, the market remains concerned over slow demand growth, especially from China.’’
Thai rubber free-on-board lost 1.8 percent to 83.75 baht ($2.84) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. That is the lowest level since November 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The contract for September delivery fell 0.8 percent to 21,420 yuan ($3,454) a ton on the SHFE.
Source: Bloomberg
