Key TOCOM rubber futures retreated on Friday on diminishing hopes for the US Federal Reserve to indicate the possibility of another round of quantitative easing, and the market posted a sixth successive monthly decline on a weak outlook for demand. The most-active Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery settled down 3.5 yen, or 1.6 percent, at 217.8 yen per kg after falling as low as 216.4 yen, its lowest since August 21.
The TOCOM market fell 5.3 percent in August. Friday's close was still 5.9 percent above an almost three-year low of 205.6 yen hit this month. The front-month September rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 255 US cents per kg, down 2.5 cents.
"The market was inactive ahead of the Fed Reserve Chairman (Ben) Bernanke's speech later on Friday, while falls in US and Japanese shares also depressed the market," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodities analyst at trading house Dot Commodity. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery fell 165 yuan to close at 21,490 yuan per tonne. Among other markets, Brent crude futures climbed above $112 per barrel on Friday, on track for a second monthly gain as investors awaited Bernanke's speech.
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