TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures edged higher on Wednesday to hold near a two-month high, supported by a weaker yen and strength in Asian stock markets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery <0#2JRU:> was 2.1 yen higher at 268.6 yen as of 0038 GMT. The benchmark contract rose as high as 268.9 yen, just below a two-month high of 269.2 yen hit on Tuesday.
* Rubber has strengthened over the past month, while the yen has softened after Shinzo Abe, the leader of Japan’s main opposition party which is expected to win a Dec. 16 election, called for aggressive policy action from the Bank of Japan, including embarking on “unlimited easing”.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve, which ends its two-day policy meeting later in the day, is expected to replace its expiring “Operation Twist” programme with a fresh round of outright Treasury purchases.
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Dec 2012 |
252.7 |
252.7 |
254.5 |
252.7 |
254.5 |
+1.8 |
19 |
|
Jan 2013 |
254.4 |
255.4 |
256.6 |
254.7 |
255.0 |
+0.6 |
15 |
|
Feb 2013 |
256.7 |
258.8 |
259.4 |
256.4 |
257.0 |
+0.3 |
150 |
|
Mar 2013 |
260.4 |
261.3 |
263.4 |
261.3 |
261.3 |
+0.9 |
178 |
|
Apr 2013 |
263.5 |
264.9 |
266.2 |
263.8 |
264.1 |
+0.6 |
378 |
|
May 2013 |
266.5 |
267.9 |
269.7 |
267.1 |
267.2 |
+0.7 |
2,052 |
|
Total |
|
2,792 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, led by gains in technology companies, helping the S&P 500 end at its highest level since Election Day.
* The dollar wallowed at three-month lows against the Australian currency and remained broadly under pressure on Wednesday as markets geared up for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
* Oil futures rose modestly on Tuesday after OPEC said its members pumped less oil last month and as a weaker U.S. currency helped to firm dollar-denominated commodity prices.
* Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, hitting a 7-1/2 month high led by gains in tech shares and other exporters on the weak yen while Wall Street’s strong performance buoyed sentiment.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
– 1000 Euro zone Industrial production Oct
– 1330 U.S. Import/export prices Nov
– 1730 Federal Open Market Committee policy statement
– 1915 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke news conference
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
Source: Reuters
