SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Tokyo rubber futures ended
lower on Thursday as a drop in oil prices spurred selling but the
physical market was mostly steady because of tight supplies.
* The most active July 2010 contract on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange settled 2.3 yen a kg lower at 295.8 yen. It
had risen to a near 1-month high of 298.5 yen per kg on
Wednesday, not far from a 16-month high of 306 yen hit in the
middle of January.
* Key support was pegged at the 25-day moving average around
285 yen.
* The physical market defied weakness in Tokyo futures, with
Thai RSS3 grade rising by a few U.S. cents on lower expected
supply as the flow of latex slows down during the dry wintering
season in the world’s largest producer.
* “We’ve seen a slight correction on TOCOM and I guess
players are also waiting for the Chinese market to open next
Monday,” said a dealer in Thailand, referring to the Shanghai
rubber futures market, closed for the Lunar New Year this week,
which often influence the Japanese market.
* “I guess TOCOM will still move in a small range tomorrow.
The physical market has refused to come down because of the
wintering,” he added.
* Oil fell below $77 a barrel on Thursday, dragged down by a
stronger dollar and weaker gold prices, which dampened other
commodities and outweighed upbeat news on the U.S. economy. [O/R]
* The dollar pared some of the previous day’s gains against
the yen, easing 0.3 percent to 90.97 yen from Wednesday
when it rose as far as 91.39 yen on trading platform EBS, its
highest since Jan. 21, helped by the upbeat U.S. data. [USD/]
* Japan’s crude rubber inventories totalled 7,288 tonnes on
Jan. 31, up 6 percent from Jan. 20, data from the Rubber Trade
Association of Japan showed on Wednesday. [ID:nTOE61G05A]
* For details on physical prices, click on [ID:nSGE61H081]

Source: Reuters

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