Rubber declined, heading for the first weekly loss in four, after Japan’s currency rebounded, weakening the appeal of yen-denominated futures.
Rubber for delivery in December on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 1.2 percent to 242.2 yen a kilogram ($2,440 a metric ton) after settling yesterday at the highest level since July 5. Futures traded at 242.7 yen at 10:33 a.m., extending losses for this week to 1 percent.
The yen traded at 99.29 per dollar after climbing to 98.27 yesterday, the highest level since June 27. The Japanese currency rebounded after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on July 10 the world’s biggest economy will continue to need stimulus for the foreseeable future.
“The remarks damped speculation that the Fed will start curtailing its bond-buying program as early as September, boosting the yen against the dollar and spurring sales of futures in Tokyo,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research company JSC Corp. in Tokyo, said by phone today.
Futures also declined as oil in New York fell for a second day, he said. Synthetic rubber prices usually track changes on crude oil.
Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 0.8 percent to 17,865 yuan($2,910) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board fell 1.1 percent to 79.85 baht ($2.57) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
