TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures gained early on Thursday, eroding some of the previous day’s losses of more than 4 percent, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said easy monetary policy would be needed for the foreseeable future.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for December delivery was trading up 1.4 percent at 237.9 yen per kg as of 0020 GMT. It fell on Wednesday when Chinese trade data bolstered expectations of weaker demand for commodities in the rest of the year.
* About half of the Federal Reserve’s policymakers felt the bank’s bond-buying stimulus should be brought to a halt by year end when they met in June, minutes from the meeting released on Wednesday showed, but many wanted reassurance the U.S. jobs recovery was on solid ground before any policy retreat.
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* Japan’s May core machinery orders rose 10.5 percent month-on-month in May, data showed on Thursday, a signal that the economic recovery and improving business sentiment are spurring firms to boost capital spending.
* Small quantities of Southeast Asia rubber physical cargoes traded at multi-year lows this week, with the absence in the market of top consumer China, which already holds seasonally high stocks, rattling many exporters, dealers said on Wednesday.
TOCOM Rubber Futures Price on Thursday, July 11, 2013 (yen/kilogram)
|
Month |
Last Settlement Price |
Open |
High |
Low |
Current |
Change |
Volume |
|
Jul 2013 |
231.9 |
231.5 |
235.1 |
230.8 |
235.1 |
+3.2 |
26 |
|
Aug 2013 |
233.3 |
234.5 |
236.4 |
234.5 |
236.0 |
+2.7 |
9 |
|
Sep 2013 |
232.7 |
234.1 |
237.7 |
233.0 |
237.7 |
+5.0 |
14 |
|
Oct 2013 |
233.6 |
234.0 |
238.6 |
233.4 |
238.6 |
+5.0 |
76 |
|
Nov 2013 |
234.4 |
235.6 |
239.0 |
234.1 |
238.9 |
+4.5 |
475 |
|
Dec 2013 |
234.7 |
236.0 |
239.2 |
234.2 |
239.0 |
+4.3 |
2,800 |
|
Total |
|
3,400 |
|||||
MARKET NEWS
* The yen was steady against the dollar on Thursday morning a day after dealers dumped the greenback following the dovish comments from Bernanke.
* The Nikkei stock average dropped 0.4 percent in early trade on Thursday as the yen’s gain against the dollar lowered the value of Japan’s exports, which are the main engine for the nation’s economy.
* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index rose almost 1 percent on Wednesday, its biggest daily gain in nearly five weeks.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)
0300 Bank of Japan interest rate decision
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1230 U.S. Import/export prices
1800 U.S. Federal budget (Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: Reuters
