Tokyo rubber futures fell as much as 4 percent on Thursday, slipping below 200 yen as a decline in crude oil prices during a long market holiday in Tokyo spurred selling. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange was closed from Monday to Wednesday due to a series of national holidays.
The key TOCOM rubber contract for February delivery was at 197.4 yen per kg, down 5.7 yen or 3 percent from Friday. The contract fell as low as 194.5 yen, down 8.6 yen or about 4 percent. The contract for March 2010 delivery will become the new benchmark from Friday. The September rubber futures contract expired on Thursday at 190 yen per kg, down 6 yen from Friday, with 124 lots or 620 tonnes of deliveries.
Oil prices extended losses and fell closer towards $68 a barrel on Thursday, as data showing an unexpectedly high build-up in US oil and products stockpiles reminded traders that oil prices may have run ahead of the demand fundamentals. Crude oil has dropped about 5 percent from Friday, when TOCOM last traded.
The yen's sharp gain against the dollar also weighed on yen-based futures prices. The dollar was at 90.57 yen, down from around 91.34 yen in late US trade. Asian physical rubber traders said they expected production to slip this week as workers in the key producing regions in Asia mark the end of Ramazan.
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