Rubber dropped from a two-month high, snapping a three-day winning streak amid concern that rising prices may sap demand from China, the largest consumer.
The contract for delivery in May on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 1 percent to 272.5 yen a kilogram ($2,643 a metric ton) and traded at 274.1 yen at 11:35 a.m. local time. Futures settled yesterday at the highest level since Sept. 26.
China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 56.0 in November from a previously reported 56.3 in October, according to data from the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. Asian stocks outside Japan fell for the first time in eight days and the region’s currencies weakened.
“The market came under pressure amid speculation Chinese buying had subsided,” said Hideshi Matsunaga, an analyst at broker Evolution Japan Co. in Tokyo.
Futures also declined on signs that anti-government protests in Thailand may be losing steam, reducing the risk of disruptions from the world’s largest exporter, he said.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said a demand to replace the government with an unelected council was “unimaginable” under the constitution, and called for talks to end a dispute that is damaging Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Thai rubber free-on-board added 1.9 percent to 81.20 baht ($2.52) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. Futures for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 1.3 percent to 19,445 yuan ($3,191) a ton.
Source: Bloomberg
