TOKYO, July 22 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures inched lower on Tuesday,reflecting a decline in Shanghai futures a day earlier amid concerns ofweakening demand in China.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery was changing hands 0.7 yen lower at 201.5 yen as of 0032 GMT.The benchmark contract fell as low as 201.1 yen, the lowest since last Thursday.
* TOCOM markets were closed on Monday due to a national holiday.
* Policy insiders are concerned that China’s ambitious reform agenda isbeing sidelined by a focus on stimulus to meet the government’s growth target,delaying the planned overhaul of the world’s second-largest economy.
* The government unveiled plans for some of the most comprehensive reformsin nearly 30 years last November, but has since made only incremental changes asa rapid economic slowdown dominated policymaking in the first half of 2014.
* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai FuturesExchange rose 0.7 percent from a week earlier, the exchange said on Friday.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Prices on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 (yen/kilogram)
| Month | Last Settlement Price | Open | High | Low | Current | Change | Volume |
| Jul 2014 | 189.8 | 188.5 | 188.5 | 188.0 | 188.0 | -1.8 | 24 |
| Aug 2014 | 192.9 | 192.9 | 193.6 | 192.3 | 192.4 | -0.5 | 87 |
| Sep 2014 | 195.9 | 195.1 | 196.0 | 195.0 | 195.0 | -0.9 | 19 |
| Oct 2014 | 198.2 | 197.3 | 198.1 | 197.2 | 197.3 | -0.9 | 14 |
| Nov 2014 | 200.6 | 200.8 | 201.5 | 199.5 | 199.6 | -1.0 | 240 |
| Dec 2014 | 202.2 | 202.3 | 203.2 | 201.1 | 201.4 | -0.8 | 1,592 |
| Total | 1,976 | ||||||
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks slipped on Monday as investors remained cautious aboutinstability in Ukraine and Gaza, though the three major indexes ended well offtheir lows, a sign that some appetite for riskier assets remained.
* The greenback was little changed against the yen at 101.36 yen withbenchmark Treasury yields hovering at their lowest in over seven weeks.
* Oil prices rose on Monday as the threat of escalating tension betweenRussia and the West over the crisis in Ukraine mounted, while August U.S. crudezoomed higher prior to its expiry.
* Japan’s Nikkei average was up 0.57 percent in early trade.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
– 1230 U.S. CPI mm Jun USCPI=ECI
– 1230 U.S. CPI yy Jun USCPNY=ECI
– 1300 U.S. Monthly home price mm May USHPIM=ECI
– 1300 U.S. Monthly home price yy May USHPIY=ECI
– 1400 U.S. Existing home sales Jun USEHS=ECI
– 2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks Weekly USOIAC=ECI
– 2030 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks Weekly USOIAD=ECI
– 2030 U.S. API weekly gasoline stk Weekly USOIAG=ECI (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)
– Reuters
