Rubber in Tokyo fluctuated near a three-month high as the U.S. Federal Reserve starts its two-day meeting and amid speculation that Chinese buyers will boost purchases before Thailand restarts export fees next month.
Futures for delivery in May on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose as much as 1.1 percent to 286.7 yen a kilogram ($2,782 a metric ton) and fell as much as 1 percent to 281 yen. The most-active contract traded at 281.8 yen at 11:19 a.m. local time, down 6.9 percent this year. Prices touched 287.9 yen yesterday, the highest intra-day level since Sept. 9.
The Fed may begin cutting asset purchases at its Dec. 17-18 meeting, according to 34 percent of economists in a Dec. 6 Bloomberg survey, up from 17 percent in a Nov. 8 poll. Thailand, the biggest rubber producer, will resume collecting fees on shipments from January after a four-month exemption, according to Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund. China is the biggest user.
“The focus is on whether the Fed may change its stance at the meeting and how currency markets will react to the bank’s decision,” said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research company JSC Corp. in Tokyo. “Futures were supported by speculation that China may step up purchases before Thailand restarts collecting export fees.”
The yen slid to 103.11 a dollar, nearing the five-year low of 103.92 reached on Dec. 13. A depreciation in the Japanese currency increases the appeal of yen-based contracts.
The contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.2 percent to 19,565 yuan($3,223) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board rose 0.2 percent to 83.65 baht ($2.61) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
