The benchmark Tokyo rubber contract ended lower on Wednesday (Apr 23), weighed down by poor Chinese economic data that raised fears of falling demand, dealers said.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery dropped 0.4 yen to settle at 201.2 yen per kg.
“China’s PMI data was not so good and that encouraged players to sell contracts again,” said a Bangkok-based dealer.
China’s factory activity shrank for the fourth straight month in April, signalling economic weakness into the second quarter, a preliminary survey showed, although the pace of decline eased helped by policy steps to arrest the slowdown.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 20 yuan to finish at 14,015 yuan per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery was last traded at 167.0 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.0 cent.
– Reuters
