TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell to a three-week low on Wednesday, dented by a rise in the yen versus the dollar, while investors mostly sat on the sidelines on fears of a further downturn in other financial markets.

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery <0#JRU:> stood at 164.0 yen per kg as of 0346 GMT, down 4.5 yen or 2.7 percent from the previous close.

* It earlier fell as low as 163.6 yen, the lowest for any benchmark since Oct. 28.

* Investors are reluctant to buy the industrial commodity unless other risky assets such as stocks hit a floor and start showing signs of a recovery, traders said.

* Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 lost 2.1 percent despite gains overnight in U.S. shares. [.N]

* The yen rose against the dollar and euro on Wednesday as investors continued to fret over a deepening global recession and sought safety in the Japanese currency, while Asian shares tumbled despite a rally on Wall Street. [USD/]

* The dollar fell 0.5 percent from late New York trade to 96.50 yen <JPY=>. A higher yen deflates yen-based commodity futures prices.

* U.S. crude oil futures edged up on Wednesday ahead of data expected to show U.S. crude stocks rose last week, another sign that the global economic slump is trimming fuel demand. [O/R]

* TOCOM rubber futures prices are sounding out a floor after hitting a three-year trough of 153.4 yen in late October, pressured by the global economic crisis and bleak news about the auto industry. Physical rubber prices are being underpinned by continued tight supply due to rains in the main producing areas in Thailand, traders said.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH TUESDAY

Grade Price Change

Thai RSS3 (Dec) $1.80/kg unchanged

Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.80/kg unchanged

Thai STR20 (Dec) $1.80/kg +$0.05

Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.80/kg +$0.05

Malaysia SMR20 (Dec) $1.75/kg unchanged

Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.75/kg unchanged

Indonesia SIR20 (Dec) $0.80/lb +$0.05

Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.80/lb +$0.05

Thai USS3 54 baht/kg – 2 baht

Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec) $1,300/tonne -$150

Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec) $1,200/tonne -$100

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell 3 percent on Tuesday, extending declines into a second session as weakness in Tokyo shares kept intact investor concerns about demand for the industrial commodity.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery <0#JRU:> closed at 168.5 yen per kg, down 5.8 yen or 3.3 percent from the previous close.
* On Monday it fell 0.4 yen, trimming Friday’s 3.4 yen rise.
* “As long as stocks are down and other commodities are down, rubber is down as well. It doesn’t seem easy for investor confidence to recover,” said a manager at a Tokyo-based trading firm.
* Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei share average <.N225> fell 2.3 percent, dragged down by worries about a weakening global economy that battered exporters such as Sony Corp <6758.T>, though bargain-hunting prevented further slides. [.N]
* Oil fell 1 percent in late Asian trading hours on fears that the worsening global economic slump is trimming fuel demand further. [O/R]
* The dollar was little changed at 96.30 yen . The range-bound trade failed to give a clear direction to yen-based futures prices.
* TOCOM rubber futures prices are sounding out a floor after hitting a three-year trough of 153.4 yen in late October, pressured by the global economic crisis and bleak news about the auto industry, but physical prices have been supported by the fundamental supply tightness.
* China will increase the rebate on exports of some types of rubber, including tyres, effective Dec. 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, in a move to help its producers. [ID:nHKG310061]
* Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd <5110.T>, Japan’s second-biggest tyre maker, said it plans to start selling in Japan tyres which include no petrochemical materials by 2013. [ID:nT321311]

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH MONDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Dec) $1.80/kg -$0.05
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.80/kg -$0.05
Thai STR20 (Dec) $1.75/kg -$0.10
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.75/kg -$0.10
Malaysia SMR20 (Dec) $1.75/kg -$0.05
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.75/kg -$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Dec) $0.75/lb -$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.75/lb -$0.05
Thai USS3 56 baht/kg – 2 baht
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec) $1,450/tonne unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec) $1,300/tonne unchanged

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures closed a touch lower on Monday, giving up earlier gains of over 1 percent on the back of a rise in Japanese share prices.

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April 2009 delivery <0#JRU:> closed at 174.3 yen a kg, down 0.4 yen or 0.2 percent. It moved between 170.0 and 177.2 yen.

* On Friday it gained 3.4 yen to 174.7 yen, snapping a three-day losing streak.

* Japan, the world’s second-biggest economy, has slipped into recession for the first time in seven years, government data showed on Monday. [ID:nT120174]

* But the data was somewhat as expected, said Hitoshi Inagawa, senior manager at Tokyo-base brokerage Yutaka Shoji Co.

“The financial markets had already sold to factor in a slew of such bearish news in the pipeline,” Inagawa said. “Given a recovery in the stock market as well as gold and platinum prices, rubber is gaining ground,” he said.

* Japan’s Nikkei average gained 0.7 percent on Monday despite the data. [.T]

* The U.S. dollar was nearly flat at 96.96 yen <JPY=>, after rising as high as 97.56 yen earlier. [USD/]

* TOCOM rubber futures prices are sounding out a floor after hitting a three-year trough of 153.4 yen in late October, pressured by the global economic crisis and bleak news about the auto industry, but physical prices have been supported by fundamental supply tightness.

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH FRIDAY

Grade Price Change

Thai RSS3 (Dec) $1.85/kg unchanged

Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.85/kg unchanged

Thai STR20 (Dec) $1.85/kg unchanged

Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.85/kg unchanged

Malaysia SMR20 (Dec) $1.80/kg unchanged

Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.80/kg unchanged

Indonesia SIR20 (Dec) $0.80/lb unchanged

Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.80/lb unchanged

Thai USS3 58 baht/kg – 1 baht

Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec) $1,450/tonne unchanged

Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec) $1,300/tonne unchanged

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures rose close to
5 percent on Friday, bouncing back from a three-day losing streak
thanks to a rise in oil prices and a softer yen, although the key
contract failed to break above 180 yen.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April
delivery <0#JRU:> rose to a morning session high of 179.3 yen per
kg, up 8 yen or 4.7 percent, before closing the first session at
176.3 yen.
* The benchmark has recovered about half the 10 percent it
lost in a three-day losing streak that began on Tuesday.
* The strong yen is weighing on TOCOM rubber prices, a
Tokyo-based broker said.
* Prices have been locked in a band of 150-210 yen since
mid-October.
* “It’s been a cycle of profit-taking and buying back …
that I don’t see ending anytime soon,” he said.
* TOCOM futures prices have fallen, pressured by the global
economic crisis and bleak news about the auto industry, but
physical prices have been supported by the fundamental supply
tightness of the commodity needed to produce tyres.
* U.S. crude oil futures briefly rose more than $1 to top $59
a barrel after prices jumped nearly 4 percent on Thursday as OPEC
seemed poised to cut production again later this month. [O/R]
* The dollar eased 0.6 percent to 97.11 yen after a
sharp rise the previous day. [USD/]
* Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, faced with a deep slump in the
U.S. auto market, is considering postponing plans to start
production at a plant it is building in Mississippi until 2011 or
later, the Nikkei business daily reported. [ID:nT271517]

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH THURSDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Dec) $1.85/kg -$0.05
Thai RSS3 (Jan) $1.85/kg -$0.05
Thai STR20 (Dec) $1.85/kg unchanged
Thai STR20 (Jan) $1.85/kg unchanged
Malaysia SMR20 (Dec) $1.80/kg -$0.05
Malaysia SMR20 (Jan) $1.80/kg -$0.05
Indonesia SIR20 (Dec) $0.80/lb -$0.04
Indonesia SIR20 (Jan) $0.80/lb -$0.04
Thai USS3 59 baht/kg – 3 baht
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec) $1,450/tonne -$50
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec) $1,300/tonne -$50

Source:  Reuters

TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures fell more
than 7 percent on Thursday to close slightly above 170 yen as
weaker crude oil prices and a stronger yen encouraged investors
to step up selling of the industrial commodity.

 * The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April
delivery <0#JRU:> closed down 10.1 yen at 171.3 yen per kg, up a
touch from an intra-day low of 168 yen. That was a decline of
13.4 yen or 7.4 percent from Wednesday.

 * A Tokyo analyst said there was little news to cheer the
market, with fears about consumption stoked by news of the poor
performance of major automakers in Japan and the United States.

 * "You've got worrying news about the Big Three in the United
States and Toyota in Japan ... and this makes you wonder about
where demand is going," he said.

 * Lawmakers plan to question chief executives of General
Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Ford Motor

Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chrysler LLC on their
pleas for an industry bailout.  [ID:nN12305540]

 * In more news to depress the market, Chinese annual
industrial output growth slowed to 8.2 percent in October, the
weakest reading since late 2001, as manufacturers struggled with
a drop in export demand and weakness in the domestic property
market. [ID:nPEK202621]

 * Physical rubber traders have noted an absence from the
market of buyers from China, traditionally the top consumer of
the industrial commodity used to produce tyres.

 * U.S. crude oil fell on Thursday to hit a 22-month low of
close to $55 a barrel as mounting pessimism about the global
economy outweighed OPEC's comments that it could cut output again
as early as the end of November. [O/R]

 * In New York trade, the dollar fell to 94.49 yen, the lowest
since Oct. 28 according to Reuters data. [USD/]

 * India's rubber product export growth may come down to 3-4
percent in FY09, from 10 percent a year earlier, on cancelled
orders as the financial turmoil trimmed demand for tyres, a top
industry official said on Wednesday. [ID:nBOM405891]

 * Rain in Thailand, the world's top rubber producer, has
raised concerns about supply tightness, helping to support
physical prices of the industrial commodity.

 PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY

 Grade                                Price        Change

 Thai RSS3 (Dec)                     $1.90/kg      unchanged

 Thai RSS3 (Jan)                     $1.90/kg      unchanged

 Thai STR20 (Dec)                    $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Thai STR20 (Jan)                    $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Malaysia SMR20 (Dec)                $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Malaysia SMR20 (Jan)                $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Indonesia SIR20 (Dec)               $0.84/lb      +$0.02

 Indonesia SIR20 (Jan)               $0.84/lb      +$0.02

 Thai USS3                           62 baht/kg    + 3 baht

 Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec)  $1,500/tonne  unchanged

 Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec)   $1,350/tonne  unchanged

Source:  Reuters