BANGKOK, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures edged lower
on Friday, as steady oil prices and demand on the physical market
lent support, but a firmer Japanese yen weighed, dealers said.
* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JRU:> fell 0.5 yen to settle at 274.3 yen ($3.05) per
kg.
* The benchmark contract rebounded to an intraday high of
279.9 yen on speculative buying, supported by steady oil prices
and strong demand on the physical market.
* Oil was steady near $74 on Friday, headed for a third
consecutive weekly drop, as the recovery of the U.S. economy has
yet to boost fuel demand. [ID:nSGE60S05N]
* However, prices finally succumbed to stop-loss selling by
investment funds after yen rose.
* The Japanese yen rose broadly on Friday as weaker U.S. and
European stock markets further clouded sentiment.[ID:nTOE60S053]
* Dealers said TOCOM rubber should rebound next week as
concern on falling supply and demand from China ahead of the
Lunar New Year should provide support.
($1=89.95 YEN)

Source: Reuters

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — Rubber dropped for a sixth day and posted the biggest weekly decline since Dec. 11 on speculation that the global economic recovery may falter and as shares fell.

Futures in Tokyo fell 5.2 percent this week and the price lost 0.6 percent this month, the first drop in four months. Asia stocks declined, with the regional benchmark posting its biggest weekly loss since February, on concern about Greece’s swelling deficit, U.S. unemployment and tightening measures by central banks in America, China and India.

“There were no aggressive buyers as concerns linger about the U.S. economic outlook and China’s monetary tightening,” Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at commodity broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo, said today by phone. “Declining stocks in Asia and the U.S. dragged market sentiment lower.”

Rubber for July delivery fell 0.2 percent to close at 274.3 yen per kilogram ($3,047 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange after gaining earlier as much as 3.2 percent.

May-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.2 percent to settle at 23,195 yuan ($3,397) a ton. Prices slumped yesterday to 22,760 yuan, the lowest level intraday level since Dec. 23.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped 1.8 percent to 116.96 at 4:07 p.m. in Tokyo, set for a 4.4 percent drop for the week. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures slipped 0.5 percent.

‘Getting Wary’

“People are getting wary about the outlook for the U.S. economy,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Central banks globally have little room to further loosen policies. We can’t expect excess liquidity to continue to flow into markets.”

China is expected to raise the deposit reserve requirement ratio for banks after the Lunar New Year holiday to curb surging liquidity, the Shanghai Securities News reported today, citing unidentified people. The vacation starts on Feb. 14 and lasts for a week.

In the cash market, shippers in Thailand, the world’s largest exporter, offered so-called RSS-3 grade rubber for March shipment at $3.10 per kilogram today, little changed from yesterday, Saito said. Offers were $3.16 on Jan. 25.

“Shippers were reluctant to cut prices substantially, despite a sell-off in the futures markets, after rain reduced the raw-material supply last month,” he said.

Source: Bloomberg

BANGKOK, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures fell for the
fourth straight day on Thursday, weighed down by weak oil prices,
but a fall in the yen helped limit the losses, dealers said.
* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JRU:> for July delivery fell 3.4 yen to settle at
274.8 yen ($3.04) per kg.
The benchmark contract fell as low as 269.0 yen, the lowest
since Dec. 24, as players unwound contracts to stop losses after
seeing oil prices continue to fall.
* However, oil rebounded slightly from a six-week low, rising
towards $74 on Thursday, after U.S. President Barack Obama’s
State of the Union address and the Fed’s decision to maintain low
interest rates revived some confidence about economic growth.
[ID:nSGE60R06J]
* Dealers said TOCOM prices also rebounded from an intraday
low of 269.0 yen on the back of a lower Japanese yen.
[ID:nTOE60R076]
* Dealers said demand on the physical front remained strong.
($1=90.34 Yen)

Source: Reuters

[Dow Jones] Physical prices of Thai USS3 rubber slightly lower at THB93.80-THB94.36 vs THB94.57-THB94.61 yesterday on sharp fall in futures markets. “Factories are reluctant to pay higher prices for the raw material because prices of processed rubber have declined significantly,” says trader in Phuket. Total sales in three central markets of Thailand 91.5 tons vs 77 tons yesterday: 34.5 tons in Hat Yai, 35 tons in Surat Thani, 22 tons in Chandee. (SAM)

Source: Dow Jones

BANGKOK, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures tumbled to a
one-month low on Wednesday on a firmer yen, which triggered
stop-loss selling amid poor technical sentiment, worsened by
falls in other commodities, dealers said.
* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JRU:> for July delivery fell 8.0 yen, or 2.8 percent,
to settle at 278.2 yen ($3.12) per kg. It had fallen as low as
276.5 yen per kg, the lowest since Dec. 30.
* “The yen at below 90 per dollar was too strong for rubber
futures and the sentiment was very poor in other commodities,
especially oil,” one dealer said.
* The yen firmed broadly on Wednesday as investors remained
jittery about risk-taking, with the focus still on China’s
efforts to curb lending and the outcome of a Federal Reserve
policy meeting later. [ID:nT0E60Q06T] At 0720 GMT, the yen stood
at 89.24 per dollar.
* A stronger Japanese yen makes dollar-based rubber futures
cheaper and usually encourages players to unwind rubber futures
contracts to stop losses.
* Oil was little changed on Wednesday but still stayed below
$75 a barrel as a firm dollar offset a surprise drop in crude
stockpiles in top consumer the United States. [ID:nSGE60Q061]
* Dealers said they expected TOCOM prices to rebound on
Thursday after prices could stay above a key psychological
support level of 275 yen per kg, expecting strong demand and
limited supply on the physical front should lend support.
($1=89.22 Yen)

Source: Reuters