Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a one-month low on Thursday, dragged down by a stronger yen and weaker Shanghai futures. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have also been pressured by rising rubber stockpiles in Japan and China, as well as worries over slack demand. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery finished 0.3 yen higher at 187.3 yen ($1.77) per kg after touching a one-month low of 186.3 yen earlier.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 60 yuan to finish at 12,130 yuan ($1,916) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 143.20 US cents per kg, up 0.2 cent. Rubber stocks in Japan are at a more than three-year high, while a curb in exports by a group of the world's top three rubber producers is set to expire at the end of the month.
"Good quality rubber is in excess, weighing on the market," said a Japanese industry source. The dollar struggled against other currencies on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was more likely to raise interest rate three times in 2018 than the four that some dollar bulls had hoped for.
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