SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) –
- Japanese rubber futures fell on Wednesday, surrendering earlier gains as prospects of heightened trade tensions and weakening domestic demand in top consumer China outweighed a softer yen.
- The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: closed down 4.5 yen, or 1.15%, at 386.6 yen ($2.54) per kg.
- The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery SNRv1 fell 240 yuan, or 1.31%, to finish at 18,045 yuan ($2,530.11) per metric ton.
- 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 and hundreds of billions more in components for products Americans buy from elsewhere.
- 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.
- 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.
- Still, Chinese stocks rose modestly on Wednesday, buoyed by the promise of government help for the economy, even though the scope and timing of stimulus measures remain uncertain. .SS .HK
- The dollar last traded at 152.08 yen JPY=EBS, up 0.65%, as rising U.S. Treasury yields and the possibility of Trump winning the U.S. presidential election buoyed the dollar and pressured the yen. USD/
- A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/
- The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for November delivery STFc1 last traded at 193.8 U.S. cents per kg, down 2.1%.
($1 = 152.2000 yen)
($1 = 7.1321 yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Varun H K
