TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futuresrebounded on Thursday as Japanese shares climbed, but trade wasquiet as markets in the world’s biggest consumer China andproducer Thailand were closed for holidays.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo CommodityExchange (TOCOM) for October delivery rose 1.7yen, or 0.8 percent, to settle at 207.2 yen ($2.03) per kg.
Japan’s Nikkei stock average posted its biggest gainin over two weeks on Thursday, helped by a record closing highin the Dow Jones Industrial Average and solid earnings frombrokerage firms and some manufacturers.
“Strong stock prices supported the rubber market and morethan offset weaker-than-expected economic data in China,” saidSatoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Dot Commodity.
Activity in China’s factories increased marginally in Aprilbut export orders fell sharply, a government survey showed onThursday, adding to questions about whether the world’ssecond-largest economy is stabilising after its first-quarterslowdown.
Japanese auto sales in April dropped 5.5 percentyear-on-year after a sales tax hike that took place last monthsapped demand, industry data showed on Thursday, but the resultwas somewhat better than expected, according to senior analystat Research firm IHS Automotive.
“The rubber market is in a rebound phase after droppingbelow 200 yen in late April. Although investors are worriedabout China’s demand and higher Japanese stockpiles, thebenchmark may test recent resistance at 207.5 yen,” said DotCommodity’s Yoshida.
Chinese financial markets are closed on Thursday and Fridayfor the Labour Day holiday, and will resume trade on Monday.Markets in Thailand and Singapore will reopen on Friday.
($1 = 102.1500 Japanese Yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
– Reuters
