Rubber headed for a weekly advance amid expectations data today will show further gains in the U.S. jobs market, bolstering the outlook for demand, and as a weaker Japanese currency raised the appeal of yen-based contracts.
The contract for delivery in July rose as much as 1 percent to 318.8 yen a kilogram ($3,473 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the highest most-active price since Jan. 15, and traded at 317 yen at 11:45 a.m. Futures have gained 1.7 percent this week, the eighth advance in nine weeks.
Data may show that U.S. employers added 160,000 workers in January after a 155,000 December gain, according to the median of 67 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The yen declined to 91.86 per dollar, the lowest level since June 2010.
“Expectations for U.S. economic recovery provided support to futures,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo. Futures also gained after data showed China’s manufacturing activity continued to expand in January, he said.
Related Post
The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 52.3 last month from 51.5 in December, according to Markit Economics and HSBC Holdings Plc. A separate gauge from the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing was 50.4 in January from 50.6 in December. Figures above 50 indicate expansion.
Rubber for May delivery lost 0.6 percent to 26,140 yuan ($4,201) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Thai rubber free-on-board fell 0.2 percent to 96.65 baht ($3.24) a kilogram yesterday, according to the country’s rubber research institute.
Source: Bloomberg
