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Rubber advanced for a fourth day, gaining to the highest in five months, as rising crude oil prices boosted the cost of making rival synthetic products and growth in U.S. auto sales improved the outlook for tire makers.
The March-delivery contract advanced as much as 0.8 percent to 318.2 yen per kilogram ($3,801 a metric ton), the highest level for a most-active contract since April 26, before trading at 317 yen at 11:49 a.m. on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.
Oil traded near an eight-week high after jumping 7.1 percent in the previous three sessions as economic data from the U.S. and China bolstered optimism that demand is growing in the world’s two largest energy-consuming countries. U.S. auto sales in September accelerated to the fastest pace since the federal government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program last year as deliveries by the top 14 automakers all expanded.
“Car sales figures from the U.S. showed improvement, leading investors to purchase rubber futures,” Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at commodity broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo, said today by phone. “Higher oil prices also gave support to the market.”
U.S. auto sales in September rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11.8 million, compared with 9.4 million a year earlier, according to New Jersey-based researcher Autodata Corp. In August 2009, the pace was 14.2 million, aided by the federal subsidy for fuel-efficient models.
September’s stronger sales, bolstered by Ford Motor Co.’s 41 percent sales gain, are a sign that the car market may have bottomed out and that a slow, stable recovery is under way, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for Santa Monica, California-based TrueCar.com.
Consumer Spending
Oil for November delivery traded unchanged at $81.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining as much as 0.4 percent earlier. It surged $1.61 to settle at $81.58 on Oct. 1, the highest close since Aug. 5.
The market advanced after U.S. consumer spending increased more than forecast in August as incomes climbed, a Commerce Department report showed.
Consumer purchases in the U.S. grew for a second month, rising 0.4 percent, more than the 0.3 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Incomes were up 0.5 percent, the biggest advance this year.
In the cash market, the benchmark Thai rubber price gained 1.5 percent to 109.15 baht ($3.62) a kilogram on Oct. 1, from 107.55 baht on Sept. 21, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.
The Shanghai rubber market is closed as China celebrates National Day holidays from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7.
Natural rubber inventories monitored by the bourse expanded 4,680 tons to 31,580 tons, based on a survey of 10 warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin, the exchange said Sept. 30.
Source: Bloomberg