Tokyo rubber futures finished firmer on Monday as a weak yen induced mild short-covering, but trade was thin amid a lack of fresh fundamental incentives. The benchmark September rubber contract, which was listed on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange on Monday, closed at 141.9 yen per kg after moving between 141.2 and 142.3 yen. Other months finished up 0.3-0.9 yen.
"The market looks solid at 140 yen as the yen weakens against the dollar. But there were no other factors to bid up rubber futures," a Tokyo broker said.
Trade in TOCOM rubber has dwindled as investors shifted their interest to more volatile markets such as energy and grain futures in Tokyo, he added.
"I wonder if the market has the strength to touch 143 yen this week," he said. Last week, TOCOM's benchmark rubber was confined to the 139.8-142.9 yen range. After confirming the floor around 118 yen in January, the benchmark rose as high as 146.9 yen in February, drawing strength from a rally in oil and other commodities markets.
But the rubber market has lost momentum as a bull run in other commodities markets halted on the dollar's recovery.
Turnover in TOCOM rubber was 7,839 lots on Monday, down from Friday's 11,810 lots.
Open interest stood at 53,588 lots at the end of Friday trade, against Thursday's 53,368 lots.
The dollar hit a 4-1/2 month high against the yen on Monday, buoyed by expectations that a batch of US economic data this week will strengthen the case for interest rates to rise at a faster pace. The dollar was at 106.97/107.00 yen at 0631 GMT, up from around 106.35 yen in late Tokyo trade on Friday.
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