SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) –
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Japanese rubber futures edged up on Wednesday, buoyed by a softer yen and higher synthetic rubber prices, although the prospect of heightened trade tensions amid weakening domestic demand in top consumer China limited gains.
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The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: was up 0.9 yen, or 0.23%, at 392.0 yen ($2.58) per kg as of 0205 GMT.
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The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery SNRv1 was up 45 yuan, or 0.25%, at 18,330 yuan ($2,570.03) per metric ton.
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The most active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE SHBRv1 rose 205 yuan, or 1.34%, to 15,460 yuan ($2,167.63) per metric ton.
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The yen JPY=EBS sank to a three-month low of 151.72 against the greenback, pressured by the rise in U.S. Treasury yields. USD/
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A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/
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Chinese exporters say the threat of tariffs if Donald Trump wins next month’s U.S. presidential election is rattling China’s industrial complex, which sells goods worth more than $400 billion annually to the U.S.
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The country’s latest stimulus measures will not meaningfully boost domestic demand, leaving a major source of trade friction intact, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said on Tuesday.
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Yellen and Gourinchas said separately they had not seen any announcement so far from China’s central bank and its finance ministry that would boost demand enough to absorb excess production and boost growth.
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Still, Chinese stocks extended gains on Tuesday as local financial institutions stepped up tapping the central bank’s new policy tool to bring incremental funds to bolster the equity market.
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The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for November delivery STFc1 last traded at 197.5 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.2%.
($1 = 151.7100 yen)
($1 = 7.1322 yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Rashmi Aich
