Key Tokyo rubber futures
gave up early gains and ended down 1 percent on Friday as
profit-taking emerged, with many investors waiting to see U.S.
corporate earnings and due to uncertainty surrounding Europe’s
debt crisis.
The bellwhether Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for
June delivery <0#2JRU:> settled down 2.8 yen at 277.6 yen per
kg. The contract rose to a near one-month high of 279.8 yen
before profit-taking emerged.
For the week, the June contract rose nearly 4 percent, the
biggest rise in about a month, helped in part by views that the
Thai government may intervene to lift prices.
“The contract is locked in a narrow range, with big players
unwilling to take large positions due to uncertainties in Europe
and ahead of earnings announcements in the U.S.,” said Naoki
Asami, chief broker at trading house Kanetsu.
Open interest reached the highest in about six months,
however, at 26,999 lots.
But demand for rubber is sluggish, with crude rubber
inventories increasing more than 1,100 tonnes in 10 days to
13,439 tonnes as of Dec. 31, the highest in two months,
according to the Rubber Trade Association of Japan.
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The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery
closed at 25,050 yuan ($4,000) per tonne, down from
25,315 yuan on Thursday, with volume of 905,794 lots.
Japan’s Nikkei share average climbed to a one-week high on
Friday, rising above the key threshold of its 25-moving average
after smooth European debt auctions prompted buying of
exporters’ shares, while the market remained on edge ahead of
U.S. corporate earnings. [.T]
($1 = 6.3178 Chinese yuan)

Source: Reuters

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