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TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures
fell 2.4 percent on Wednesday as soft U.S. manufacturing data
added to concern about a global economic slowdown.
Benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
(TOCOM) for February delivery fell 5.1 yen, or 2.4
percent, to settle at 219.1 yen ($2.79) per kg, the lowest close
since Aug. 31, after U.S. manufacturing shrank at its fastest
pace in more than three years.
The benchmark contract fell as low as 216.5 yen, down 3.5
percent, in early trade on Wednesday, the lowest since hitting
216.4 on Aug. 31, and extended declines after a jump of nearly 5
percent on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
left the door wide open to a further easing of monetary policy.
The contract was more than 120 yen below a peak in February,
and a recent agreement reached by main producers Thailand,
Indonesia and Malaysia to cut exports by a total of 300,000
tonnes failed to shore up prices. [ID:nL4E8JG1CQ]
Traders are awaiting U.S. employment data due on Friday and
China’s CPI figures due on Sunday.
“The funds, which had been reducing short positions on
Monday, seemed to have placed big orders to sell,” a Tokyo-based
broker said.
“But the fall did not go beyond the recent low of 216.4.
With U.S. employment data later this week and China’s CPI data
due on Sept. 9, the market is unlikely to make large moves
outside recent ranges.”
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures
exchange for January delivery fell 285 yuan to finish at
21,605 yuan ($3,400) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM
exchange for October delivery last traded at 252 U.S.
cents per kg, down 5.5 cents, or 2.1 percent.
A few rubber cargoes were sold to main consumer China and
other buyers for nearby shipment, but persistent declines on
Tokyo futures brought back fears of defaults and cancellations,
dealers said on Wednesday. [ID:nL4E8K522M]
Synthetic rubber specialist Lanxess of Germany
plans to spend 235 million euros ($295 million) on a new plant
in China to tap growth in the world’s largest car market, it
said on Wednesday. [ID:nL6E8K50ZM]
($1 = 78.3900 Japanese yen)
($1 = 6.3473 Chinese yuan)
Source: Reuters