TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dropped 3 percent on Friday as Japanese share prices tumbled and commodities weakened overnight, with evidence of slowing growth in China hurting the outlook for demand.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery was trading down 2.98 percent at 230.9 yen per kg as of 0037 GMT.
* The contract dipped as low as 228.6 yen, its lowest since Sept. 10, 2012.
* Chinese factory activity weakened to a nine-month low in June as demand faltered, a preliminary survey showed, heightening the risk of a sharper second-quarter slowdown and increasing the heat on the central bank to loosen policy.
* U.S. home resales hit a 3-1/2-year high in May and factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region rebounded this month, backing the Federal Reserve’s view that risks to the economy have diminished.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Friday, June 21, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Jun 2013 |
229.0 |
232.0 |
232.0 |
222.0 |
222.0 |
-7.0 |
9 |
|
Jul 2013 |
232.0 |
233.7 |
233.7 |
222.2 |
225.0 |
-7.0 |
12 |
|
Aug 2013 |
232.3 |
236.2 |
236.2 |
223.2 |
225.1 |
-7.2 |
20 |
|
Sep 2013 |
234.3 |
237.2 |
237.2 |
225.8 |
225.9 |
-8.4 |
92 |
|
Oct 2013 |
236.1 |
238.5 |
239.5 |
226.3 |
229.9 |
-6.2 |
388 |
|
Nov 2013 |
238.0 |
239.8 |
240.5 |
228.0 |
231.7 |
-6.3 |
4,816 |
|
Total |
|
5,337 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* Japan’s Nikkei share average shed 2.2 percent on Friday, extending the previous day’s decline, as investors fretted about the Fed’s plan to scale back massive stimulus in coming months if the U.S. economy improves as expected.
* Brent crude oil futures dropped $4 on Thursday in the biggest one-day decline since November as part of a cross-market rout sparked by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s plan to wind down monetary stimulus.
* Gold plunged more than 5 percent to its lowest in three years on Thursday, leading a global market rout one day after the Fed gave its most explicit signal yet it plans to wind down the era of easy money.
* The U.S. dollar, euro and sterling were all in demand on Friday as the prospect of an end to super-easy money from the Fed drove a mass migration out of emerging markets and into developed world assets.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
1930 U.S. CFTC commitment of traders data Weekly CFTCGUIDE (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
Source: Reuters
