TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures rose for a third session in four on Tuesday, helped by stronger oil futures and a weaker yen, as concerns about top producer Thailand’s plans to sell from its stockpiles eased.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery was changing hands 1.3 yen higher at 204.2 yen as of 0034 GMT. The benchmark contract rose as high as 205.0 yen, the highest since May 7.
* Thailand last week pledged to go ahead with a plan to sell 200,000 tonnes of rubber from government stocks, helping drive down global prices to near their lowest in more than four years, but the market has recovered since then as dealers said the concerns from the sale have eased.
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* China’s new bank lending and total social financing weakened in April, but money supply growth picked up slightly, indicating the central bank is treading cautiously in steering policy to support the slowing economy.
MARKET NEWS
* The Dow and the S&P 500 ended at record highs on Monday while the Nasdaq rallied as shares of Internet and biotech shares advanced.
* The dollar rose slightly to 102.20 yen on Tuesday.
* Crude oil futures rose on Monday as tensions in Ukraine prompted the European Union to widen sanctions, while Russia reiterated that it could cut off Kiev’s natural gas supplies.
* Japan’s Nikkei average was up 1.90 percent on Tuesday.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
– 0530 China Industrial output April
– 0530 China Retail sales April
– 0530 China Urban investment April
– 0900 Germany ZEW economic sentiment May
– 1130 U.S. NFIB business optimism April
– 1230 U.S. Import prices April
– 1230 U.S. Export prices April
– 1230 U.S. Retail sales April
– 1400 U.S. Business inventories March
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ed Davies)
– Reuters
