SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Reuters) –
- Japanese rubber futures recovered on Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker yen and higher oil prices, although mixed economic data from top consumer China limited gains.
- The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for February delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: was up 6.3 yen, or 1.72%, at 371.9 yen ($2.53) per kg as of 0150 GMT.
- The January rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SNRv1 fell 100 yuan, or 0.61%, to 16,375 yuan ($2,299.86) per metric ton.
- The dollar held close to a two-week high against the yen on Tuesday as investors geared up for a slew of economic data, including Friday’s U.S. payrolls, that will influence the size of an expected Fed rate cut. USD/
- The yen JPY=EBS fetched 147.10 per dollar, close to the two-week low of 147.16 hit on Monday.
- A stronger currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/
- Oil prices edged higher on Monday, recovering some losses from late last week, as Libyan oil exports remained halted and concerns about higher OPEC+ production from October eased. O/R
- Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.
- Top producer Thailand’s meteorological agency warned of heavy rains that may cause flash floods from Sep. 2-7.
- China’s manufacturing activity swung back to growth in August as new orders drove production, a private sector survey showed on Monday, offering a glimmer of hope amid dismal economic data this summer.
- However, new export orders fell for the first time in eight months and at the fastest pace since November 2023, while an official PMI survey on Saturday showed manufacturing activity extended declines in August.
- The front-month October rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform STFc1 last traded at 178 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.1%.
($1 = 146.7200 yen)
($1 = 7.1200 yuan)
($1 = 34.2800 baht)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
