Tokyo rubber futures inched higher on Friday (Apr 4), supported by firmness in oil prices, but the prospect of poor demand in China and a rise in supply due to the Thai government’s planned sale of rubber stocks weighed on the market, dealers said.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for September delivery rose 0.4 yen to settle at 223.1 yen ($2.15)per kg.
“TOCOM prices should rise further, but concerns about falling demand in China and the Thai stocks sale this month, prevented prices from rising,” said a Bangkok-based dealer.
Brent crude steadied above $106 a barrel on Friday (Apr 4), but stayed on track for its biggest weekly fall in three months as Libya’s major oil ports could open in days and boost supplies.
The Thai government said on Wednesday (Apr 3) it planned to sell 200,000 tonnes of rubber from the state inventory in April to replace lost output as farmers stop tapping trees during the dry season.
At the same time, China acted for the first time this year to steady its stumbling economy by cutting taxes for small firms on Wednesday (Apr 3) and announcing plans to speed up the construction of railway lines.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 60 yuan to finish at 15,450 yuan ($2,500) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery was last traded at 183.5 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.8 cents.
Reuters
