Rubber advanced for the first time in four days as a drop in prices to a one-week low and crude oil near the highest level since September boosted the appeal of the commodity used in tires.
Rubber for delivery in June rose as much as 1.4 percent to 308.3 yen a kilogram ($3,485 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before trading at 304.3 yen by 11:51 a.m. local time. Yesterday it fell 3.1 percent to 302.5 yen in intraday trading, the lowest level since Jan. 8.
“The market is just rebounding after dropping on increasing stockpiles in China, the biggest consumer,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo. Investors are waiting for China’s industrial output tomorrow.
Crude oil, used to make synthetic rubber, traded near the highest level in almost four months in New York. Crude for February delivery was down 0.2 percent at $94.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after advancing 1 percent to end at $94.24 yesterday, the highest close since Sept. 18.
China will release data tomorrow on fourth-quarter gross domestic product, December industrial production and retail sales and full-year fixed-asset investment. Economic growth probably accelerated to 7.8 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier, up from a three-year low in the previous quarter, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
A government report yesterday showed U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in December from November. U.S. industrial production rose 0.3 percent, climbing for a second month in December as demand picked up for business equipment. Manufacturing grew 0.8 percent, more than forecast.
Rubber for delivery in May was little changed at 25,525 yuan ($4,105) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Thai rubber free-on-board dropped for a third day, falling 2 percent to 99.20 baht ($3.32) a kilogram, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
Source: Bloomberg
