Rubber in Tokyo climbed, paring the first weekly drop in four, as the Japanese currency reached the weakest level since 2008 against the dollar, raising the appeal of yen-based futures.
The contract for delivery in May on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange advanced as much as 0.4 percent to 281.7 yen a kilogram ($2,700 a metric ton), and traded at 281 yen at 10:52 a.m. local time. The gain pared losses for the most-active contract to 1 percent this week.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Friday, December 20, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Dec 2013 |
285.0 |
288.0 |
288.6 |
287.2 |
288.3 |
+3.3 |
18 |
|
Jan 2014 |
279.8 |
281.2 |
282.0 |
281.2 |
282.0 |
+2.2 |
118 |
|
Feb 2014 |
278.0 |
278.4 |
280.0 |
278.0 |
278.5 |
+0.5 |
154 |
|
Mar 2014 |
278.1 |
277.9 |
281.0 |
277.9 |
279.8 |
+1.7 |
139 |
|
Apr 2014 |
278.7 |
279.0 |
282.5 |
278.4 |
281.2 |
+2.5 |
192 |
|
May 2014 |
280.6 |
280.3 |
284.5 |
280.1 |
283.1 |
+2.5 |
3,083 |
|
Total |
|
3,704 |
|||||
The yen declined to 104.43 per dollar, the lowest level since October 2008, after the Federal Reserve announced its first cut to economic stimulus. The Bank of Japan will conclude a two-day policy meeting today. Of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg last month, 19 predicted the BOJ would extend monetary easing during the April-to-June period next year.
“The yen is vulnerable to selling because of a difference in stance over stimulus between the U.S. and Japanese central banks,” said Hideshi Matsunaga, an analyst at broker Evolution Japan Co. in Tokyo. “A weak yen will continue to provide support to futures in Tokyo.”
Gains were limited by speculation that rising supply in China will cap rubber futures in Shanghai, he said. Rubber inventories in Qingdao, China’s main hub for the commodity, advanced for a third week to 282,700 tons from 276,300 tons at the end of November, according to the Qingdao International Rubber Exchange.
The contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.1 percent to 19,030yuan ($3,135) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board was unchanged at 82.85 baht ($2.56) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
