TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures posted their biggest gain in more than six months as a weaker yen prompted investors to step up buying, dealers said.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for May delivery jumped 11.7 yen or 4.5 percent to settle at 270.2 yen ($2.64) per kg, a six-week settlement high.
The contract marked its biggest weekly gain in seven weeks and its first monthly gain since August.
The yen slid to a six-month low against the dollar and a five-year trough against the euro on Friday as rising risk sentiment fanned speculation that more investors might borrow and sell the low-yielding yen to buy riskier assets.
“A weaker yen certainly boosted the market,” said Satoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Dot Commodity.
Traders focusing on technical charts increased buy orders after the benchmark contract rose beyond 260 yen and 265 yen, he added.
“To sustain the bullish trend next week, we need to see a pick up on trading volume which has been slack over the past month,” Yoshida said.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 495 yuan to 19,695 yuan ($3,200) per tonne.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 12.2 percent from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
Lower inventories in China, the world’s biggest rubber consumer, may give a support next week, dealers said.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 233.50 U.S. cents per kg, up 2.10 cents. ($1 = 102.2150 Japanese yen) ($1 = 6.0925 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
