TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a near two-week low on Wednesday after Chinese trade data raised the prospect of weaker demand for commodities in the second half of the year.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for December delivery fell 6.8 yen, or 2.8 percent, to settle at 234.7 yen ($2.32) per kg.
The contract fell more than 4 percent to 231.5 yen, the lowest since June 28. It has dropped more than 20 percent this year.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 95 yuan to finish at 17,280 yuan ($2,800) per tonne.
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“Shanghai rubber markets fell, which exacerbated TOCOM losses,” said a Tokyo-based industry source who declined to be identified.
China warned on Wednesday of a “grim” outlook for trade as the world’s second-largest economy surprised financial markets by reporting a fall in exports and imports when both had been expected to rise.
China’s imports of natural rubber imports fell 18.8 percent to 130,000 tonnes in June from the year before, trade data showed. Synthetic rubber imports fell 3.7 percent.
Trading houses bought some quantities of tyre grades from Southeast Asia as prices fell to multi-year lows, but the absence of top consumer China rattled many exporters, dealers said on Wednesday.
Tyre grades sank to their weakest level since 2009 as concerns about global economic growth and uncertainty over demand sparked selling in the benchmark rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 216.00 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.2 cent.
($1 = 6.1295 Chinese yuan)
($1 = 101.0650 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)
Source: Reuters
