TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures gave back the previous day’s gains and were heading for their biggest weekly loss in four months, hurt by a stronger yen and as the U.S. government shutdown clouded the outlook for demand.
Liquidity is expected to remain thin until Chinese markets reopen on Tuesday after a week-long holiday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for March delivery was down 0.7 percent at 255.0 yen per kg by 0026 GMT, after settling 0.2 percent higher on Thursday.
* The contract was poised for a weekly loss of 5.6 percent – its deepest drop since falling nearly 6 percent in the week that ended May 24.
* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 97.38 yen in Asia, slightly above an earlier five-week low of 96.93 yen. A stronger yen makes assets denominated in the currency more expensive for holders of other currencies.
* The partial shutdown of the U.S. government appeared likely to drag on for another week and possibly longer.
* The Bank of Japan is expected to maintain its massive stimulus and reiterate its upbeat view that the economy is strong enough to weather next year’s sales tax increase without additional monetary policy measures when it meets later on Friday.
* Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 4,507 tonnes as of Sept 30, falling to their lowest level since hitting 4,144 tonnes on Aug. 31, 2010, according to industry data.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Friday, October 04, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Oct 2013 |
245.3 |
243.9 |
243.9 |
242.6 |
242.6 |
-2.7 |
10 |
|
Nov 2013 |
246.7 |
247.7 |
247.7 |
244.5 |
244.7 |
-2.0 |
13 |
|
Dec 2013 |
249.2 |
249.5 |
251.4 |
246.8 |
247.4 |
-1.8 |
51 |
|
Jan 2014 |
252.1 |
252.6 |
254.0 |
249.3 |
249.9 |
-2.2 |
109 |
|
Feb 2014 |
254.5 |
255.4 |
256.2 |
251.2 |
251.9 |
-2.6 |
269 |
|
Mar 2014 |
256.9 |
257.5 |
258.7 |
253.9 |
254.4 |
-2.5 |
1,566 |
|
Total |
|
2,018 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average edged down 0.6 percent in early Friday trade on overnight losses on Wall Street and as the stronger yen cut into exporter profits.
* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index fell 0.3 percent on Thursday as nine of the 19 markets on the index closed lower.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
0600 Germany Producer prices
0630 Bank of Japan Gov Haruhiko Kuroda speaks to media
0900 Euro zone Producer prices (Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
