* TOCOM rubber sees stiff resistance at 250 yen/kg
* Thai sugar premiums may inch up as NY falls
* Vietnam could offer more beans, butter ratios seen firming
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) – High rubber inventories willweigh on Tokyo rubber futures this week, but sugar premiumscould edge up after New York futures fell on easing day weatherconcerns in main producer Brazil, dealers said on Monday.
In the coffee market, higher domestic prices in top robustaproducer Vietnam could spur more selling, while cocoa butterpremiums in Asia may strengthen on demand from chocolate makersfor spot and nearby delivery.
The most active rubber contract on the Tokyo CommodityExchange, currently August rose to 244.8 yen a kg, itsstrongest since Jan. 24, before easing to 237 yen, down 3.2 yen.The contract gained nearly 4 percent last week.
The Tokyo market, which sets the tone for tyre grade pricesin Southeast Asia, could trade in a range of 233 to 248 yen a kgthis week, with key resistance at 250 yen.
“There are high inventories in both Tokyo and Shanghai.Actually, demand is not very good,” said Gu Jiong, an analyst atYutaka Shoji Co in Tokyo. “The whole mood in the market is nottoo strong to push prices over 250 yen.”
Although rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by theShanghai Futures Exchange fell 2.1 percent last week to 192,475tonnes, stocks in the closely-watched bonded warehouses in theport of Qingdao have risen to around 340,000 tonnes from around290,000 tonnes in January.
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 21,456tonnes as of Feb. 28, up 3.6 percent from 10 days earlier.
In the sugar market, Thai raw premiums could rise slightlyfrom last week’s 35 to 45 points following a correction in NewYork’s front-month contract. Futures and premiums usuallymove in opposite directions.
“If we look at the fundamentals, there appears to be somebearish factors. Firstly, Brazil started its cane crushing earlyand this suggest that the market could see an increase in rawsugar supplies in the near term,” said Vanessa Tan, investmentanalyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
“Secondly, Indian sugar supplies are gaining competitivenessin the global sugar market. Aided by the government, Indiansugar millers increased exports of raw sugar to the globalmarket, potentially taking up market share from Brazil.”
Thai sugar premiums have been under pressure from theprospect of a record crop in Thailand in the current crushingseason, ample global supply as well as competition from Braziland India
COFFEE, COCOA
Coffee sellers in Vietnam could offer robustas at biggerdiscounts as more beans enter the market after domestic pricesregain the psychological level of 40,000 dong a kg. Consumersmay wait for Indonesian premiums to ease before makingpurchases.
In addition to support from spot demand, Asian cocoa buttercould track European butter ratios higher.
($1=21,080 dong)
(Editing by Richard Pullin)
Source: Reuters
