TOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures climbed 1 percent on Wednesday due to a weaker yen, but prices were likely to remain in their recent narrow range ahead of the outcome of a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery was changing hands 2.8 yen higher at 264.0 yen as of 0023 GMT.
* Against the yen, the dollar hovered near a one-week high around 98.28, as investors further trimmed bearish positions ahead of the end of the Fed’s policy meeting on Wednesday. A weak yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable when purchased in other currencies.
* Investors reckon the U.S. central bank will rock no boats at the meeting and leave its commodity-friendly stimulus in place for the next few months at least.
* Rubber farmers in Thailand on Tuesday threatened to intensify protests as the government rejected their calls for Bangkok to buy their produce at prices higher than the market.
The move has not so far affected output or shipments from the world’s biggest rubber producer and exporter, but there are fears deliveries to the port of Bangkok may be disrupted if protests escalate.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Nov 2013 |
247.5 |
247.5 |
248.8 |
246.6 |
248.8 |
+1.3 |
108 |
|
Dec 2013 |
250.0 |
251.0 |
252.1 |
250.2 |
251.5 |
+1.5 |
15 |
|
Jan 2014 |
252.7 |
253.3 |
256.3 |
253.3 |
256.3 |
+3.6 |
23 |
|
Feb 2014 |
256.1 |
255.9 |
259.8 |
255.9 |
259.4 |
+3.3 |
62 |
|
Mar 2014 |
258.5 |
258.5 |
262.3 |
258.1 |
261.7 |
+3.2 |
1,965 |
|
Apr 2014 |
261.2 |
261.4 |
264.8 |
260.7 |
264.1 |
+2.9 |
2,919 |
|
Total |
|
5,092 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* The Dow and S&P 500 ended at record highs on Tuesday after economic data supported views that the Fed would keep its stimulus intact.
* Brent oil futures fell on Tuesday, giving back some of the previous session’s sharp gains, on expectations that fresh disruptions over the weekend in exports from OPEC member Libya could be short-lived.
* Japan’s Nikkei average was up 0.81 percent.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
– 0855 Germany Unemployment rate
– 1000 Euro zone Business climate
– 1000 Euro zone Economic sentiment
– 1215 U.S. ADP employment report
– 1230 U.S. CPI
– 1300 Germany CPI
– 1800 Federal Reserve statement after 2-day policy meeting (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
