TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures reversed earlier falls to close higher on Thursday as gains in other industrial commodities, such as gasoline and platinum, encouraged investors to buy on dips.
* The Tokyo rubber market rallied towards the close, having reversed losses made after it rose above 200 yen per kg to a nine-month high on Tuesday.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for January delivery <0#JRU:> settled at 195.8 yen per kg on Thursday, up 1.3 yen on the day. It fell as low as 191.6 yen during the night session on Wednesday.
* The January contract hit a high of 202.9 yen on Tuesday, the highest for any benchmark since Nov. 5. That marked a 33 percent recovery from a July trough of 152.2 yen.
* “It’s not news which drove the market higher. It’s simply because other markets went higher,” said a manager at a Japanese trading company.
“There’s a glut of liquidity left due to accommodative monetary policy by central banks around the globe, resulting in a lot of price volatility here and there. If other markets start falling, rubber would be hit again. The damage (to rubber) would be harder than that for other commodities since the run-up recently was steeper than in other markets,” he said.
* Bargain-hunting demand was strong around 190 yen, a manager at a commodity brokerage said. “But I don’t think the momentum is so strong. A daily technical chart doesn’t warrant another leap above 200 yen,” he said.
* TOCOM gasoline futures for February delivery <0#JGL:> rose 0.7 percent on Thursday and TOCOM platinum futures for June delivery <0#JPL:> gained 1.8 percent. Japan’s Nikkei share average <.N225> added 1.3 percent to hit its highest close in 10 months.
* Oil prices clawed above $72 a barrel in late Asian trade on Thursday adding to gains the day before, bolstered by a drop in U.S. distillate inventories and optimism that a slowdown in U.S. private job losses in July could signal a gradual turnaround in the economy. [O/R]
* In the physical market, Bridgestone Corp <5108.T>, Japan’s No.1 tyre maker, bought Indonesia’s SIR20 grade for October shipment at 79 cents and 79.25 cents per pound, traders said.
* A September cargo for SIR20 was offered at 78.50 cents, traders said. Indonesia’s is currently the most competitive among major rubber suppliers.
* Bridgestone, which recently opened a radial tyre factory in Kitakyushu, southern Japan, is due to report its April-June earnings on Friday.
* Smaller rival Toyo Tire & Rubber <5105.T> on Thursday posted a group net loss of 2.62 billion yen ($28 million) in the April-June quarter.
* French tyre maker Michelin on Friday posted a net loss of 119 million euros ($171 million) in the first half and said that although industry stocks were returning to more normal levels, it was too soon to talk about an upturn. [ID:nLV622805]
* The dollar stayed near its 2009 lows against the euro on Thursday on the slower pace of U.S. job losses. Against the yen, the dollar stayed within its recent range around 95 yen . [USD/]
* The China Rubber Industry Association said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama could cost 100,000 Chinese tyre workers their jobs if he agrees to a U.S. union’s request for steep import duties on tyres from China. [ID:nN05541227] ($1=95.06 Yen) ($1=.6944 Euro)

Source: Reuters

Comments are closed.