[Dow Jones] C-Com rubber futures settle up in thin trade with just 2 lots traded. Gains on bellwether Tocom, weaker yen vs dollar seen as supportive factors, though general weak fundamental outlook, lack of firm leads damp trade. C-Com expected to track Tocom movement in coming sessions; Tocom expected to trade in narrow Y130-Y140 range pending fresh leads. C-Com”s benchmark August RSS3 contract settles Y1.9 higher at Y132.2/kg (ANJ)

Source: Dow Jones

TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures were flat on Tuesday in thin trade as a slump in demand for the industrial commodity saps buying interest, with the benchmark contract having lost more than 10 percent of its value since January.
* Total trading volume for the six contracts was 5,566 lots, compared with 7,663 lots on Monday.
* “The pace of investors dropping out of the market has picked up as the economic climate deteriorates,” a Tokyo based trader said.
* He blamed the light trading volume for the virtually unchanged prices on Tuesday.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery <0#JRU:> ended at 137.6 yen per kg, up 0.1 yen or 0.07 percent from Monday’s close, after moving narrowly between 136.5 yen and 138.1 yen.
* The benchmark contract has lost more than 10 percent of its value since rising to this year’s high of 156.3 yen in January, hit by a slump in demand for the industrial commodity used in tyres.
* U.S. oil futures held above $47 a barrel on Tuesday, as dealers mulled the possibility of deeper OPEC output cuts at a meeting this weekend and ahead of weekly U.S. stocks data expected to show another fall in crude inventories. [O/R]
* Japan’s Nikkei average dipped 0.4 percent on Tuesday to a fresh 26-year closing low as drugmakers slid amid worries about their global competitiveness after Merck proposed to take over Schering-Plough . [.T]
* Thailand’s plan to buy 200,000 tonnes of rubber from farmers is expected to be delayed again to April while a process is put in place to ensure money goes to the people supposed to benefit, agriculture sector officials said on Monday. [ID:nBKK478672]
* Japan’s crude rubber inventories totalled 11,279 tonnes as of Feb. 20, up 9.5 percent from Feb. 10, industry data showed on Monday. [ID:nT258898]

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH MONDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Mar) $1.44/kg unchanged
Thai RSS3 (Apr) $1.44/kg unchanged
Thai STR20 (Mar) $1.35/kg unchanged
Thai STR20 (Apr) $1.35/kg unchanged
Malaysia SMR20 (Mar) $1.35/kg unchanged
Malaysia SMR20 (Apr) $1.35/kg unchanged
Indonesia SIR20 (Mar) $0.56/lb unchanged
Indonesia SIR20 (Apr) $0.56/lb unchanged
Thai USS3 44 baht/kg -2 bahts
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Mar) $1,300/tonne unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Mar) $1,200/tonne unchanged

Source: Reuters

[Dow Jones] C-Com rubber futures settle up in thin trade with just 2 lots traded. Gains on bellwether Tocom, weaker yen vs dollar seen as supportive factors, though general weak fundamental outlook, lack of firm leads damp trade. C-Com expected to track Tocom movement in coming sessions; Tocom expected to trade in narrow Y130-Y140 range pending fresh leads. C-Com”s benchmark August RSS3 contract settles Y1.9 higher at Y132.2/kg (ANJ)

Source:  Dow Jones

TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures closed at a
one-week high on Thursday as a rally in equities provided some
respite to worries about demand for the industrial commodity,
leading to an unwinding of short positions.
* A fall in the yen versus the dollar also inflated
yen-based futures prices, although profit-taking blocked the
market from breaking above its recent range. [FRX/]
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August
delivery <0#JRU:> ended at 138.7 yen per kg, up 4.2 yen or 3.1
percent from Wednesday in the highest close since Feb. 27.
* The contract hit a one-week peak of 142.9 yen during the
day.
* “The market posted initial gains due to the weaker yen,
gains in stocks and a rise in energy prices, which all favour
rubber,” said a manager at a commodities brokerage in Tokyo.
“Fund short-covering accelerated the rally later on.”
* But the manager said sell orders were lined up at or above
140 yen as the Tokyo market was seen caught in a range of between
130 and 145 yen.
* Underlining persistent doubts over rubber demand in the
auto industry, European carmakers said on Wednesday they expected
production to fall 25 percent this year, and called for easier
and faster access to funding. [ID:nL4683381]
* Japan’s Nikkei share average <.N225> gained 2 percent,
rising for a second day as hopes for fresh stimulus steps in
China and an economic recovery there boosted machinery stocks.
[.T]
* U.S. crude futures hovered around $45 per barrel on
Thursday, after surging nearly 9 percent on government data
showing an unexpected drop in U.S. crude stocks. [O/R]
* The dollar firmed to 99.30 yen , staying near a
four-month high of 99.49 yen hit the previous day. [USD/]

PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY
Grade Price Change
Thai RSS3 (Mar) $1.43/kg -$0.02
Thai RSS3 (Apr) $1.43/kg -$0.02
Thai STR20 (Mar) $1.34/kg -$0.01
Thai STR20 (Apr) $1.34/kg -$0.01
Malaysia SMR20 (Mar) $1.34/kg -$0.01
Malaysia SMR20 (Apr) $1.34/kg -$0.01
Indonesia SIR20 (Mar) $0.55/lb unchanged
Indonesia SIR20 (Apr) $0.55/lb unchanged
Thai USS3 45 baht/kg unchanged
Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Mar) $1,250/tonne -$50
Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Mar) $1,150/tonne -$20

Source: Reuters

[Dow Jones] Tocom rubber futures settle higher as weaker yen vs dollar sparks short covering, though outlook remains same with weak fundamentals expected to cap upside, says trader in Japan. Volume very thin with just 12,580 lots done; Tocom likely to continue trading in Y130-Y140 range in coming sessions, pending fresh leads, while market will continue taking leads from external factors, primarily crude oil prices, dollar/yen fluctuations, equity markets, trader says. Benchmark August RSS3 contract settles Y3.8 higher at Y134.5/kg. (ANJ)

Source: Dow Jones