Rubber rebounded from the lowest level in a week as Japan’s currency weakened below 101 per dollar, raising the appeal of yen-denominated futures.
Rubber for delivery in December added as much as 0.4 percent to 241 yen a kilogram ($2,383 a metric ton) and was at 240.3 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 12:11 p.m. Futures slid to 237 yen earlier, the lowest level for a most-active contract since July 1.
The yen declined to 101.24 per dollar, nearing a five-week low reached yesterday. The most-accurate foreign-exchange forecasters expect the currency to fall about 9 percent this year to levels not seen since 2008.
“Futures in Tokyo were supported by speculation that the Federal Reserve will curtail stimulus and boost the dollar further against the yen,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research company JSC Corp., said by phone today. Gains were limited by concerns that China’s economy is slowing.
China’s producer prices fell 2.7 percent in June, adding to signs of slowdown in the nation’s economy and raising concerns demand may weaken from the world’s largest user. The decline in factory-gate prices extended its longest streak in a decade amid slowing economic growth and lower commodity costs.
Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.4 percent to 17,365yuan ($2,833) a ton. Natural-rubber inventories climbed 125 tons to 114,121 tons, based on a survey of nine warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin, the exchange said July 5.
Thai rubber free-on-board remained unchanged at 82.45 baht ($2.62) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
