Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures fell to a one-week low in early trade on Thursday (May 29), as falls in equities and global oil prices sapped buying sentiment for the soft commodity contract.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery was down 1.0 yen at 203.6 yen per kg by 0031 GMT, after touching 202.2 yen earlier. The contract finished 1.5 yen lower on Wednesday (May 28).
Japanese retail sales fell 4.4 percent in April from a year earlier, the fastest annual decline since the March 2011 earthquake, as consumers cut back on shopping after an increase in the sales tax.
Thailand’s junta has appointed two retired generals with palace connections as advisers, putting powerful establishment figures hostile towards former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra firmly in the ascendant in the country’s long-running power struggle.
MARKET NEWS
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 101.73 yen early on Thursday (May 29), with the greenback easing against the yen as benchmark Treasury yields dropped to their lowest in nearly 11 months, a move that usually undermines the allure of the dollar.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average fell 0.5 percent in Thursday (May 29) trade, following declines in U.S. equities on Wednesday (May 28), as the index consolidated recent gains.
U.S. crude fell more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday (May 28) as traders took profits ahead of a government inventory report that is expected to show a build in crude stocks, while Brent edged lower, propped up by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Libya.
(Reuters, May 29, 2014)
