TOKYO, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures dipped on Friday, dragged down a stronger yen, putting the contract on track for a nearly 3 percent fall for the week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for February delivery was down 1.3 percent at 274.5 yen per kg by 0043 GMT, after settling 1.7 percent lower on Thursday.
* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 99.67 yen in Asia, after earlier hitting a multi-week low of 99.56 yen as the greenback fell on an unexpected decline in U.S. jobless claims due to a technial issue. A stronger yen makes the contract more expensive when purchased in other currencies.
* The United States and Russia started talks on Thursday about Moscow’s plan for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons, but U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underscored that military force may still be needed if diplomacy fails.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Friday, September 13, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Sep 2013 |
266.7 |
261.7 |
261.7 |
259.1 |
259.1 |
-7.6 |
57 |
|
Oct 2013 |
266.6 |
265.2 |
265.2 |
260.9 |
260.9 |
-5.7 |
52 |
|
Nov 2013 |
268.7 |
266.0 |
266.0 |
263.1 |
263.1 |
-5.6 |
37 |
|
Dec 2013 |
272.0 |
270.8 |
270.8 |
266.0 |
266.9 |
-5.1 |
121 |
|
Jan 2014 |
275.2 |
274.0 |
274.0 |
268.5 |
269.4 |
-5.8 |
1,153 |
|
Feb 2014 |
278.1 |
276.4 |
277.0 |
271.6 |
272.5 |
-5.6 |
5,133 |
|
Total |
|
6,553 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average ticked up 0.2 percent in early Friday trade, but market moves are expected to be muted ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting to decide if it will begin to scale back stimulus and by how much.
* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index edged up 0.5 percent on Thursday when crude oil’s gain was capped by falling prices for gold and copper prices.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
0900 Euro zone Q2 employment
0900 Euro zone Eurostat trade
1230 U.S. Producer prices
1230 U.S. Retail sales
1355 U.S. Univ of Michigan sentiment index
1400 U.S. Business inventories (Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Richard Pullin)
Source: Reuters
