Tokyo rubber futures edge up after 2-day losses (Feb. 14)

TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures edged up in early Friday trade to snap a two-day losing streak, helped by a slightly weaker yen against the dollar.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for July delivery was changing hands 0.3 yen higher at 225.9 yen as of 0017 GMT. The contract fell slightly at the open, hurt by an unexpected fall in U.S. retail sales.

* India’s natural rubber imports in January fell by a fifth to 19,696 tonnes from a year earlier as a hike in the import duty made overseas purchase less lucrative for tyre makers, a senior official with the state-run Rubber Board told Reuters.

TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Thursday, February 13, 2014 (yen/kilogram)

Month	Last Settlement Price	Open	High	Low	Current	Change	Volume
Feb 2014	220.5	219.0	221.0	218.0	220.7	+0.2	32
Mar 2014	221.1	220.0	222.7	219.0	222.5	+1.4	14
Apr 2014	222.6	220.5	225.3	220.4	222.5	-0.1	46
May 2014	225.0	224.1	227.2	222.9	225.0	+0.0	309
Jun 2014	226.1	225.4	227.9	223.5	225.7	-0.4	1,291
Jul 2014	225.6	225.0	226.9	222.6	224.5	-1.1	4,957
Total							6,649

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq rising for a sixth straight day, as investors looked past disappointing data on consumer spending.

* The dollar recovered some ground to around 102.30 on Friday from near 102 yen early in the day.

* Brent crude oil futures prices edged lower on Thursday, pressured by a forecast dip in demand during refinery maintenance.

* Japan’s Nikkei average was up 0.81 percent on Friday, after falling nearly 2 percent a day earlier.

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)

– 0200 China CPI

– 0200 China PPI

– 0630 France Q4 GDP

– 0700 Germany Q4 GDP

– 0900 Italy Q4 GDP

– 1000 Euro zone Q4 GDP

– 1000 Euro zone Eurostat trade