TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures fell for a fourth session on Wednesday, as the partial suspension of U.S. government operations dented appetite for riskier assets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for March delivery was down 0.8 percent at 258.8 yen per kg by 0015 GMT – its lowest level since Aug. 21. It finished 1.8-percent lower on Tuesday.
* The White House rejected a Republican plan to reopen portions of the U.S. government on Tuesday, a sign that the standoff over health care between the two sides could take some time to end.
* U.S. consumer demand for new vehicles totaled 15.28 million vehicles in September, down considerably from 16.09 million autos in August, but close to what many analysts expected.
* Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 4,708 tonnes as of Sept. 20, ticking up from a three-year low in the previous release, industry data showed on Tuesday.
MARKET NEWS
* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 97.99 yen in Asia, up slightly from 98.73 yen overnight.
* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average gained 0.4 percent in early Wednesday trade.
* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index closed down half a percentage point on Tuesday, after a number of commodities including gold, copper, crude oil, fell sharply following the U.S. government’s partial shutdown.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
0900 Euro zone Producer price index
1215 U.S. ADP employment report
1230 European Central Bank interest rate decision
1345 U.S. ISM-New York business activity
1930 U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks
(Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
