TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell about 2 percent on Tuesday on profit taking after five sessions of gains, while a halt in the yen’s decline and caution over demand from China also weighed on prices that had risen to a two-month high.
The dollar retreated by 0.5 percent to 101.39 yen, having pulled back from a 4 1/2-year high of 102.15 yen set on Monday, as market players locked in profits ahead of a series of U.S. economic data that could determine whether the Federal Reserve is ready to roll back its stimulus program.
The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for October delivery settled at 287.6 yen ($2.8) per kg, down 6.4 yen from the previous close.
The October contract had risen a combined 16 percent in the previous five sessions, climbing as high as 299 yen on Monday, the strongest for any TOCOM benchmark since March 12.
The most-active rubber contract on Shanghai futures exchange was down 400 yuan to 20,275 yuan ($3,300)per tonne.
The front-month June rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM futures exchange was last traded at 254 U.S. cents per kg, down 6.5 cents.
($1 = 6.1468 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 101.7450 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; editing by Ron Askew)
Source: Reuters
