TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures climbed for a third session on Tuesday on the back of strong gains in crude oil and robust economic data from top buyer China, dealers said.
The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery <0#2JRU:> rose 2.5 yen, or 1.3 percent, to settle at 196.3 yen ($1.92) per kg, the highest closing since May 30.
“Solid inflation data in China and firm oil prices lifted investors’ sentiment,” a commodities broker in Tokyo said.
China’s consumer inflation edged up to a four-month high of 2.5 percent in May while factory price deflation eased, reinforcing signs of stabilisation in the economy.
Brent crude steadied around $110 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by tight supply and hopes of healthy demand growth from the world’s top two oil consumers, the United States and China.
“Trade was light. Some investors were trying to clear their sell positions as the benchmark was continuing a positive tone,” said Jiong Gu, analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co.
“The market is expected to stay between 190 and 200 yen for a while as selling pressure will likely kick in when the benchmark gets closer to 200 yen level,” he said.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 5 yuan to finish at 14,270 yuan ($2,300) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 166.6 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.5 cents. ($1 = 102.3400 Japanese Yen) ($1 = 6.2240 Chinese Yuan Renminbi) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
