TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose 0.9 percent on Thursday after the dollar hit a five-year high against the yen on expectations the U.S. economy will continue a solid recovery.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for June delivery rose 2.5 yen to settle at 274.8 yen ($2.64) per kg.
The greenback rose as high as 104.85 yen, surpassing last week’s high of 104.64 yen.
“There is a pressure among the dealers to scoop up front-month contract, which is really tight as a lot of trades are done to get access on inventories,” said Kaname Gokon, general manager of research at broker Okato Shoji.
“Overall market looks weak, but if you hasten to sell, you could be in a big mess.”
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 20 yuan to finish at 18,365 yuan ($3,000) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 228.50 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.1 cent.
($1 = 104.2850 Japanese yen) ($1 = 6.0714 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Sunil Nair)
Source: Reuters
