TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures hit a record high on Monday to reverse earlier losses, helped by back of firm Shanghai rubber futures and strong demand at a time when supply is limited, dealers said.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery <0#2JRU:> rose to a record 419.3 yen per kg before settling at 417.6 yen, up 1 yen or 0.2 percent.
* The contract fell as much as 7.7 yen or 1.8 percent to 408.9 yen in early trade, when other commodities markets were hit by the rate rise announced by China’s central bank on Saturday.
* Traders said the fall offered bargain-hunting opportunities for investors.
* The most active Shanghai May rubber futures contract closed at 37,110 yuan per tonne on Monday, down 190 yuan from Friday’s close. Volume stood at 858,082 lots, down from Friday’s 998,258 lots.
* Asian physical rubber prices were offered higher on Monday, supported by rising TOCOM futures prices and limited supply. [ID:nSGE6BQ00K]
* Spot silver, platinum and palladium reversed earlier losses on bargain-hunting after earlier falling about 1 percent on China’s rate increase.
* Commodity markets pared early losses on Monday in response to an interest rate rise by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), focusing instead on positive fundamentals and threats to supply. [ID:nL3E6NR040]
* Benchmark agricultural commodity futures on China’s Dalian and Zhengzhou exchanges opened broadly flat on Monday, showing little sign of a sell-off after the People’s Bank of China raised interest rates. [ID:nTOE6BQ02H]
* U.S. crude prices rose to an intraday high of $91.88 a barrel on Monday, the highest level since October 2008, on freezing weather in the U.S. Northeast. [O/R]
* The Australian dollar dipped on Monday after China’s central bank raised rates at the weekend, while the yen also hit a three-week high against the dollar, although thin trading conditions are likely to have exaggerated price moves. [USD/]
* China’s central bank raised interest rates on Saturday for the second time in just over two months as it stepped up its battle to rein in stubbornly high inflation. [ID:nTOE6BO010]
* Top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp <600104.SS> plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) in its production base in the eastern city of Nanjing in the next five years to boost capacity of its own-brand cars, the China Securities Journal said. [ID:nTOE6BQ03E]
* The tight natural rubber supply situation in the world market “is likely to be aggravated further” in February-May 2011, the group responsible for 92 percent of global output said, as it is seasonally the lean period for tapping. [ID:nSGE6BN074]
* Japan’s Nikkei average <.N225> rose 0.8 percent on Monday in thin trade as an increased appetite for global equities in recent weeks lent support and helped to offset concerns over China’s interest rate hike at the weekend. [.T]

Source: Reuters

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