Rubber rose to a four-week high as the Japanese currency headed for a fifth weekly decline, increasing the appeal of yen-based futures.
The contract for delivery in May on the on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose as much as 2.6 percent to 265.3 yen a kilogram ($2,587 a metric ton), the highest since Oct. 31, before trading at 264.2 yen at 11:51 a.m. local time. Futures have gained 0.9 percent this month, paring this year’s losses to 13 percent.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Friday, November 29, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Dec 2013 |
253.1 |
253.1 |
260.5 |
253.1 |
258.0 |
+4.9 |
164 |
|
Jan 2014 |
253.1 |
254.1 |
259.0 |
254.0 |
258.0 |
+4.9 |
57 |
|
Feb 2014 |
254.6 |
255.4 |
260.4 |
255.2 |
260.0 |
+5.4 |
292 |
|
Mar 2014 |
255.9 |
256.4 |
262.2 |
256.2 |
262.0 |
+6.1 |
906 |
|
Apr 2014 |
257.2 |
257.8 |
264.0 |
257.7 |
263.8 |
+6.6 |
3,349 |
|
May 2014 |
258.5 |
258.9 |
265.3 |
258.9 |
265.3 |
+6.8 |
6,436 |
|
Total |
|
11,204 |
|||||
The yen fell to 102.61 per dollar, the lowest level since May 23, after Japanese government data showed inflation quickened last month.
“Weak yen is a factor for strong rubber,” said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research company Market Risk Advisory Co. in Tokyo. “It’s good timing for yen-denominated funds to buy rubber at the moment.”
The contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.6 percent to 19,380yuan ($3,180) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board added 0.4 percent to 79.2 baht ($2.47) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
