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TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures rose on Thursday, supported by a weaker yen and firmer oil prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery <0#JRU:> rose 7 yen or 2 percent to 303.6 yen per kg, the highest since September 2008.
* Oil prices inched up on Thursday but stayed below $80 per barrel, after falling the day before on a U.S. inventory report showing rises in crude and distillate fuel stocks despite severe winter weather. [O/R]
* The dollar and the yen steadied on Thursday having ceded ground in the previous session, with an unwinding of positions in commodity currencies that was triggered by China’s move to start tightening monetary policy having run its course. Traders said the focus was turning to a European Central Bank meeting and the release of U.S. retail sales numbers for December, both due later in the session, as well as U.S. earnings. [USD/]
MARKET NEWS
* Thailand, the world’s biggest rubber exporter, said on Wednesday that current rubber prices were reasonable and repeated it had no rubber stocks it could release to influence market prices. [ID:nSGE60C046]
* Japan’s crude rubber inventories totalled 6,690 tonnes as of Dec. 31, up 13.3 percent from Dec. 20, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Wednesday. [ID:nTOE60C04K]
* Japan’s core machinery orders fell 11.3 percent in November from the previous month, although a marginal rise had been forecast, in a sign that capital spending remains a drag on the economy as it slowly recovers from its worst slump in decades. [ID:nTKZ006352]
* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent on Thursday. [.T]
* U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors bet on recently weakened technology and financial shares ahead of earnings from bellwethers Intel Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co , taking the Dow industrials to a fresh 15-month high. [.N]
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday:
– German final December inflation. (0700 GMT)
– Euro zone November industrial production. (1000 GMT)
– European Central Bank announces policy decision. (1245 GMT)
– U.S. import/export prices for December. (1330 GMT)
– U.S. retail sales for December. (1330 GMT)
– Weekly U.S. jobless claims. (1330 GMT)
– U.S. business inventories for November. (1500 GMT)
Source: Reuters