Rubber fell the most in nearly two months as weakening crude oil prices and gains in the yen until the final hour of trading on the commodities bourse cut its appeal.
The contract for February delivery fell 2.6 percent to 276.4 yen a kilogram ($2,789 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. That’s the biggest drop in the closing price of a most-active contract since July 29, and pares gains this month to 2.7 percent.
West Texas Intermediate traded near the lowest in more than six weeks on speculation a United Nations resolution this week will reduce the likelihood of U.S.-led strikes against Syria. Natural rubber competes with oil-derived alternatives for use in tires. The yen climbed after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said policy makers must “forcefully” push against economic headwinds.
“Rubber lacked support from Shanghai and crude oil markets, reducing investor demand,” Megumi Saito, trader at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co., said by phone from Tokyo.
Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 1.3 percent to close at 20,635 yuan ($3,372) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board remained unchanged at 82.50 baht ($2.64) a kilogram today, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
