Tokyo rubber slightly up

Tokyo rubber futures rose slightly on Monday as fund operators shifted positions into the newly listed distant October contract, with firmness in the prompt May contract providing support. The benchmark October contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange closed at 140.8 yen per kg after debuting at 140.0 yen on Monday. The previous benchmark September contract closed up 0.3 yen at 141.2 yen. Other contracts closed unchanged to up 0.7 yen.
"Prices continued to move in tight ranges, but the mood is not so bad after the April contract expired above 140 yen last week, which has made the prompt contract solid today," said an analyst at a Japanese asset management company.
The key distant contract could test 144 yen in the near term if the current mood holds for several more days, the analyst said. The April contract expired on Friday at 140.6 yen per kg, with 205 lots or 2,050 tonnes of deliveries.
Rubber has been confined to a tight range of around 139-144 yen in the past two weeks as the market lacked distinct trading factors, traders said.
Chart watchers said the benchmark TOCOM rubber contract faced resistance at its 14-day moving average (MA) of 142.8 yen, while it was supported around the 200-day MA of 137.9.
Rubber was also supported by bullish oil prices, which usually prompt a shift in natural rubber from synthetic rubber, a petrochemical product.
The key June Nymex crude contract traded up 32 cents at $55.71 a barrel, up more than $5 from a week ago and approaching the record high of $58.28 hit in April.
But TOCOM rubber was also capped by the yen's strength, which rose to a one-month high against the dollar on Monday. A higher yen has the effect of lowering the value of yen-based rubber prices.
The yen climbed as high as 105.26 against the dollar in Asian trade. Turnover in TOCOM rubber were 10,122 contracts against 13,847 lots on Friday.
Open interest stood at 60,936 lots as of the end of Friday against 61,999 lots on Thursday. Open interest for Monday will be available later in the day.