Rubber declined for a second day, paring a weekly advance, as crude oil fell and a stronger Japanese currency cut the appeal of yen-denominated futures.
The contract for delivery in April on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 1.3 percent to 258.1 yen a kilogram ($2,626 a metric ton) and traded at 259.5 yen at 10:44 a.m. The drop pared gains for the most-active contract to 1.1 percent this week. Futures fell 1.5 percent last month.
The yen advanced to 98.21 per dollar, extending a rally for a second day after the Federal Reserve maintained its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases Oct. 30. West Texas Intermediate oil traded near a four-month low even after data showed today manufacturing in China rose more than estimated.
“A lack of support from the currency and energy markets pressured rubber,” said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research company JSC Corp. in Tokyo.
A Chinese manufacturing gauge increased to an 18-month high in October as output strengthened, adding to evidence the nation’s economic recovery is sustaining momentum. China is the world’s largest rubber consumer.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 51.4, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today in Beijing. That compares with 51.1 in September and the 51.2 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 31 analysts.
Rubber for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.3 percent to 19,780 yuan($3,246) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board dropped 0.3 percent to 78.10 baht ($2.51) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
