TOKYO, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures eased on Tuesday, having reversed earlier gains as renewed concerns about the economic recovery dragged down oil prices as well as Shanghai and other regional equity markets.
* Fund buying was also checked as the yen rose versus the dollar for the first time in five days. A stronger yen deflates yen-based commodity futures prices.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for January delivery <0#JRU:> settled at 201.5 yen per kg, down 3.3 yen from the previous close.
* The benchmark contract rose as high as 205.9 yen during the night session on Monday, its highest since Aug. 17.
* The August contract expired at 197.2 yen on Tuesday, up 1.8 yen from the previous close, with 164 lots of deliveries.
* “A higher expiry of the August contract failed to pull up the other contracts. That’s because there’s a lack of confidence over end-user demand — whether it’s strong enough to warrant the price of 200 yen or higher,” said Hitoshi Inagawa, a senior manager at Yutaka Shoji Co.
“Also, sentiment was undermined by a fall in the Shanghai stock market and the Shanghai rubber market,” he said.
* The most active Shanghai rubber futures contract for January delivery <0#SNR:> fell 310 yuan to 18,535 yuan per tonne.
* U.S. crude futures fell for the first time in six day as Chinese shares plummetted on renewed concerns over the economic recovery, after reaching a 10-month high a day earlier. [O/R]
* Japan’s Nikkei share average <.N225> fell 0.8 percent on Tuesday, hit by profit-taking after surging 3.4 percent the day before, with investors finding few reasons to buy actively before Japan’s Aug. 30 election and U.S. economic data. [.T]
* In the currency market, the yen firmed below 94 to the dollar as equity markets fell and investor interest in higher-yielding currencies ebbed. The low-yielding yen tends to gain when stocks and higher-yielding currencies fall or when weak economic data highlights a long and uncertain road for global recovery. [USD/]
* China’s natural rubber imports jumped 25.8 percent in July from the previous month to 165,876 tonnes, within striking distance of an 11-year high hit in March, customs data showed on Monday. [ID:nSP37016]
* Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> plans to raise its daily production level in Japan in November compared with a year earlier for the first time in 16 months, thanks to a recovery in demand, the Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday. [ID:nT44448]

Source: Reuters

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