TOKYO, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber hit a 2-1/2-month high during trade before finishing higher on Monday, as the contract gained support from the boost in investor sentiment for China, following upbeat data in the world’s top rubber consumer.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have rebounded from a 9-month low at 225 yen hit on June 25, mainly on bargain hunting and easing concerns about the Chinese economy.
The key TOCOM rubber contract for January delivery gained 1.5 percent to settle at 265.2 yen per kg, after touching an intraday high of 266.3 yen, its highest since late May.
“Shanghai futures rose and they pulled Tokyo up along with them,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Tokyo-based Fujitomi Co, who added he expected futures to trade sideways this week with much of Japan away for summer holidays.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 2.3 percent to finish at 19,720 yuan per tonne.
Investors took heart from data late last week that showed factory output in the world’s second-largest economy in July grew at its fastest pace since the start of the year, boosting a slew of assets, like Chinese equities, which surged to a one-month high on Monday.
In contrast, Tokyo’s Nikkei benchmark fell to a 7-week low on Monday after Japan’s economy grew more slowly than expected in the last quarter.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 245 U.S. cents per kg, or 17.1 cents higher, as the city-state’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the second quarter.
(Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
Source: Reuters
