TOKYO, June 18 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures slipped on Tuesday after gaining for two days as metals and oil prices fell overnight ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting and anticipation of news on the Fed’s future stimulus plans.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery was trading down 0.59 percent at 237.5 yen per kg as of 0054 GMT.
* The contract dropped as low as 235.0 yen in earlier trade.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve meets this week amid intense speculation over its massive bond-buying campaign, but most economists do not expect it to scale back purchases from the current $85 billion monthly pace. The Fed will release its policy statement at the conclusion of its meeting at 2 p.m. EDT/1800 GMT on Wednesday. Bernanke’s news conference follows 30 minutes later.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Jun 2013 |
234.7 |
234.0 |
234.0 |
230.0 |
230.0 |
-4.7 |
8 |
|
Jul 2013 |
234.0 |
231.7 |
232.9 |
231.0 |
232.5 |
-1.5 |
8 |
|
Aug 2013 |
234.9 |
235.5 |
235.5 |
231.7 |
233.4 |
-1.5 |
24 |
|
Sep 2013 |
235.6 |
235.6 |
235.9 |
232.3 |
234.6 |
-1.0 |
105 |
|
Oct 2013 |
237.3 |
237.4 |
237.8 |
233.6 |
234.6 |
-2.7 |
159 |
|
Nov 2013 |
238.9 |
238.6 |
239.5 |
235.0 |
237.3 |
-1.6 |
2,136 |
|
Total |
|
2,440 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* Copper closed a touch lower on Monday on concerns the United States may scale back its monetary stimulus program, and oil prices fell after initially rising on fears of a superpower standoff over Syria and possible disruptions to Middle East crude supplies.
* The dollar was steady against the yen at 94.56 JPY=, off its 10-week low of 93.75 yen hit on Thursday, but well below last month’s 4-1/2-year peak of 103.74 yen. The dollar index .DXY, measured against a basket of six key currencies, was down 0.2 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei rose on Tuesday, heading for a third straight day of gains, which will mark its longest winning run since a sharp sell-off on May 23, underpinned by hopes the Federal Reserve will reinforce its commitment to support the U.S. economy.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
0200 China FDI (ytd) May CNFDI=ECI
0430 Japan Industrial output rev Apr JPIP4=ECI
0900 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Jun DEZEWS=ECI
1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly USUBSY=ECI
1230 U.S. Build permits: change mm Dec USBPP=ECI
1230 U.S. House starts mm: change Dec USHSTM=ECI
1230 U.S. Housing starts number mm May USHST=ECI
1230 U.S. Core CPI mm, sa May USCPF=ECI
1230 U.S. CPI mm, sa May USCPI=ECI
1230 U.S. Core CPI yy, nsa May USCPFY=ECI
1230 U.S. CPI yy, nsa May USCPNY=ECI
2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks USOIAC=ECI
2030 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks USOIAD=ECI
2030 U.S. API weekly gasoline stk USOIAG=ECI
2350 Japan Exports yy May JPEXPY=ECI
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford and Michael Perry)
Source: Reuters
