TOKYO, April 12 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures closed slightly lower on Friday, yet still posted the largest weekly gain since September, as investors were split on whether the rally driven by a weak yen would keep overshadowing the market’s oversupply.
Trade was slow ahead key economic data due early next week out of China. Markets in Thailand, the world’s biggest rubber producer, meanwhile, are closed on Monday and Tuesday next week for the Songkran Festival holiday.
“The market has been supported by a weak yen, but fundamentally, it is bearish due to a supply surplus, with a seasonal pick-up in rubber production from Thailand starting around the end of April,” said Gu Jiong, an analyst at Japanese commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co.
“Many people I talked to have a bearish outlook for next week,” he said.
The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract, for September delivery , settled Friday 0.5 yen lower at 276.4 yen ($2.8) per kg.
The September contract rose 9 percent this week, bolstered by a weaker yen, the first weekly gain after four weeks of losses. The contract rose as high as 280.8 yen on Thursday, the highest since March 28.
Although the dollar inched lower against the yen on Friday, the Bank of Japan’s radical easy money policy to combat deflation looked set to keep the 100 yen level within reach.
A weaker yen inflates Tokyo futures prices relative to dollar-based prices in producing countries and often encourages speculative buying.
Among Chinese economic data due next week, gross domestic product likely nudged higher in the first three months of 2013 to 8.0 percent year-on-year versus 7.9 percent in the last quarter of 2012, a Reuters poll showed, suggesting the country’s recovery is gaining traction.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 405 yuan to finish at 21,350 yuan ($3,400) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 256 U.S. cents per kg, down 2.6 cents.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Day Session Prices on April 12, 2013
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Close |
Change |
Volume |
Settlement |
|
Apr 2013 |
265.2 |
265.4 |
266.0 |
264.4 |
265.0 |
-0.2 |
17 |
265.0 |
|
May 2013 |
268.1 |
266.9 |
269.0 |
266.9 |
267.8 |
-0.3 |
53 |
267.8 |
|
Jun 2013 |
271.4 |
271.3 |
272.9 |
270.5 |
270.5 |
-0.9 |
52 |
270.5 |
|
Jul 2013 |
273.4 |
274.0 |
275.4 |
272.8 |
272.8 |
-0.5 |
84 |
272.9 |
|
Aug 2013 |
275.5 |
274.8 |
277.4 |
274.2 |
274.8 |
-0.7 |
184 |
274.8 |
|
Sep 2013 |
276.9 |
276.2 |
278.9 |
275.5 |
276.2 |
-0.5 |
2,979 |
276.4 |
|
Total |
|
3,369 |
||||||
($1 = 6.1963 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 99.5500 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Source: Reuters
