Rubber advanced to a three-month high on optimism that demand will improve and as oil climbed, increasing the appeal of the commodity used to make tires.
The contract for delivery in May on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose as much as 1.5 percent to 287.9 yen a kilogram ($2,797 a metric ton), the highest level for a most-active contract since Sept. 9. Futures traded at 285.8 yen at 11:28 a.m. local time, paring losses to 5.5 percent this year.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Monday, December 16, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Dec 2013 |
280.1 |
284.6 |
287.6 |
281.2 |
284.0 |
+3.9 |
88 |
|
Jan 2014 |
279.1 |
280.3 |
283.9 |
280.3 |
281.3 |
+2.2 |
400 |
|
Feb 2014 |
277.3 |
278.8 |
281.4 |
278.2 |
278.5 |
+1.2 |
521 |
|
Mar 2014 |
278.6 |
279.8 |
282.2 |
277.9 |
277.9 |
-0.7 |
726 |
|
Apr 2014 |
281.4 |
282.5 |
285.5 |
280.6 |
281.0 |
-0.4 |
1,182 |
|
May 2014 |
283.7 |
283.8 |
287.9 |
282.9 |
283.4 |
-0.3 |
5,502 |
|
Total |
|
8,419 |
|||||
Reports today may signal growth in factory output for the euro region and the U.S., according to Bloomberg surveys, after Japan’s Tankan index beat estimates, indicating confidence among large manufacturers was the highest since 2007.
“Rubber climbed on expectations that demand will improve and the Chinese government will continue to build up stockpiles,” Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co., said by phone from Tokyo.
Japan’s new vehicle tire sales gained 9.7 percent on year in November to 4 million units, after rising 10 percent a month earlier, according to Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association in Tokyo.
The contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed at 19,890 yuan($3,276) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board added 0.6 percent to 83.45 baht ($2.60) a kilogram on Dec. 13, the highest since September, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
