TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell for a second day on Friday ahead of the three-day weekend, as an improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity failed to provide support.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for April delivery fell 1.8 yen to settle at 259.8 yen ($2.65) per kg, a one-week low.
The contract fell 1.5 percent last month. TOCOM is closed on Monday for a national holiday.
The decline came despite data earlier in the day showing China’s giant manufacturing sector strengthened further in October.
A rebound from the August 2012 low of 205.60 yen a kg has not completed, based on the wave theory, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
“The sixth-month contract may eventually reach 357.20 yen, but to be conservative, the current target is at 306.70 yen, the 61.8 percent Fibonacci projection level of an upward wave C that started at the June low of 225 yen,” he said.
“But we have to be prepared for surprises. If it drops below 250 yen, rubber may collapse to 99.80, the 2008 low.”
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 175 yuan to finish at 19,920 yuan ($3,300) per tonne.
India’s tyre firms have stocked up on rubber at low prices, locking in healthy margins that have helped their share prices outperform those of international competitors over the past month.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 228.50 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.5 cent.
($1 = 98.1100 Japanese yen)
($1 = 6.0945 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Sunil Nair)
Source: Reuters
