TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose 2.3 percent on Monday to close above the psychological 200 yen level, helped by gains in Shanghai futures, as worries over top producer Thailand’s plans to sell from its stockpiles eased, brokers said.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for October delivery rose 4.6 yen to settle at 202.9 yen ($1.99) per kg.
The contract jumped as high as 203.6 yen, the highest since May 7. It has recovered from near a 4-1/2 year low of 196.7 yen struck in late April.
Thailand has pledged to go ahead with a plan to sell 200,000 tonnes of rubber from government stocks, shrugging off strong opposition from farmers and helping drive down global prices to near their lowest in more than four years.
“Now that the market has made some comeback, it may rise to around 205 yen,” said a Tokyo-based broker, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Only the direct parties know about when Thailand’s selling begins and ends, and there may not be that much of an impact to the market.”
The greenback inched up 0.1 percent versus the yen to about 101.97 yen, staying above a three-week low of 101.43 yen set last Wednesday.
Japanese stocks slipped on Monday as worries about the Ukraine crisis curbed investors’ appetite for risk.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 225 yuan to finish at 14,070 yuan ($2,300) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 169.00 U.S. cents per kg, up 1.6 cents.
($1 = 101.7100 Japanese Yen)
($1 = 6.2280 Chinese Yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)
– Reuters
