* TOCOM rubber seen in 190-197 yen/kg range this week
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) – Global benchmark Tokyo rubber futures could trade in a tight range below the psychological level of 200 yen this week due to pressure from inventory, dealers said on Monday.
But Indonesian coffee premiums may weaken because of gains in London robusta futures, while strong demand from chocolate makers could keep Asian cocoa butter ratios at their highest since December.
The most active rubber November contract on Tokyo Commodity Exchange added 1.9 yen a kg at 194.9 yen at 0458 GMT, but prices have fallen more than 29 percent so far this year on persistent worries about economic growth in top consumer China.
“It may take time for the price to recover to 200 to 220 yen. This week’s range will be 190 to 197 yen,” said Gu Jiong, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co in Tokyo.
Inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange have slipped to their lowest since November at about 154,000 tonnes, but stocks in the bonded warehouses in Qingdao remain high and are estimated by dealers at more than 300,000 tonnes.
– Reuters
