Tokyo rubber futures inched down on Friday, pressured by a firmer yen, but remained in sight of a two-week high marked the previous day. Rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, under pressure from ample physical supplies for several months, have bounced back after the key contract hit a one-year low of 185.5 yen per kg on November 24.
Traders will be watching to see if the benchmark contract can clear and maintain a level above key resistance of 205.0 yen, on Thursday's intra-day high. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for May delivery was trading at 201.2 yen a kg, down 0.8 yen. It has so far traded between 200.8 yen and 203.8 yen. In the currency market, the dollar was trading at around 115.60/115.65 yen, compared with about 116.20 yen late on Thursday.
Crude rubber stocks held at Japanese warehouses jumped 22 percent to 11,494 tonnes on November 20 from 9,404 tonnes on November 10, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Thursday. That marks a rise of nearly 30 percent from the year's low of 8,887 tonnes on October 10. Rubber's price slide has worried top Asian producers Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, which together supply the bulk of the world's rubber.
International Rubber Consortium, or IRCo, established by the three countries, met on Thursday in Bangkok in an attempt to come up with measures to support prices. Sang Udomjarumani, Micro's head, told Reuters on Thursday that much discussion was needed, and the meeting, initially planned for one day, had been extended to Friday. Measures discussed included export controls, managing supplies by re-planting trees, or IRCo stepping in to buy rubber and keep it in stock.
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