Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures rose for a fourth day in a row on Thursday (Sept 18), supported by a rally in Japanese equities and a weaker yen.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery had risen 1.7 yen to 194.6 yen per kg by 0010 GMT, after finishing 1.5 yen higher on Wednesday .(Sept 17)
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday (Sept 17) renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time,” but also indicated it could raise borrowing costs faster than expected when it starts moving.
Thai rubber growers are calling for an investigation into government claims it sold half the country’s stockpile of the commodity, as farmers grow increasingly disillusioned with what they see as a lack of state support.
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 15,970 tonnes as of Aug. 31, down 5.5 percent from 10 days earlier, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Wednesday.(Sept 17)
MARKET NEWS
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 108.48 yen early on Thursday (Sept 18), or just under a six-year high hit the previous day when the U.S. central bank’s guidance on interest rates supported the greenback.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average rose 0.9 percent in Thursday (Sept 18) trade, after gains by U.S. equities the previous day.
Copper edged up on Wednesday (Sept 17) on a report that China’s central bank would provide the country’s biggest banks with fresh loans to bolster the economy of the world’s largest metals consumer.
Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday (Sept 17) after a government report showed crude stocks rose sharply in the United States last week and as the strong dollar continued to create headwinds for dollar-denominated commodities
– Reuters, September 18, 2014
