SINGAPORE, May 10 (Reuters) –
- Japanese rubber futures dipped on Friday, weighed down by demand uncertainties amid subdued economic conditions in key rubber-buying countries, although higher oil prices and a weaker yen lent some support to the market.
- The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for October delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: was down 0.6 yen, or 0.19%, at 308.7 yen ($1.98) per kg as of 0211 GMT.
- The contract has risen more than 2% so far in the week.
- The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery SNRv1 was down 55 yuan, or 0.39%, at 14,130 yuan ($1,955.63) per metric ton.
- The Biden administration is set to announce new China tariffs next week that target strategic sectors including electric vehicles, batteries and solar equipment, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
- Japanese household spending fell 1.2% in March from a year earlier, down for a 13th straight month, government data showed.
- Oil prices rose, continuing their upward trend on signs of an improving economy in China and as negotiations to halt hostilities in the stand-off between Israel and Hamas yielded no results.
- Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.
- The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.16% to 155.72 against the dollar. A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/
- Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the government will take appropriate actions in the currency market, repeating Tokyo’s recent warnings that culminated in suspected interventions last week to stem a sliding yen.
- Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average .N225 opened 0.76% higher. .T
- Top producer Thailand’s meteorological agency warned of heavy rains and flash floods in upper Thailand from May 8-14, potentially damaging crops.
- The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for June delivery STFc1 last traded at 162.4 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.6%.
($1 = 155.6800 yen)
($1 = 7.2253 yuan)
Source:
Reuters
