TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose on Monday, rebounding from a 10-day low hit earlier in the day due to a jump in the yen, as investors unwound their positions after Shanghai futures climbed and the yen softened in later trade, dealers said. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 1.5 yen, or 0.9 percent, higher at 159.4 yen ($1.49) per kg, after touching a low of 155 yen, the lowest since May 25. “The market started with a weak tone in the face of a sharp gain in the yen after disappointing U.S.jobs data last Friday,” said Satoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities.
“But TOCOM bounced back later as the yen reversed the trend and Shanghai gained ground,” he added. Against the yen, the dollar slid to a one-month low of 106.35 JPY= on Friday, before bouncing back to trade 0.6 percent higher at 107.22 yen on Monday, thanks to bargain-hunting after its big fall on Friday. FRX/ The U.S.economy created the fewest number of jobs in more than 5-1/2-years in May as manufacturing and construction employment fell sharply, which could make it harder for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery SNRcv1 rose 220 yuan to finish at 10,705 yuan per tonne, helped by position adjustments. TOCOM futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, marked a sixth straight weekly loss last week, the longest losing streak since July last year, amid lingering concerns over slower demand in top buyer China.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.2 percent from a week earlier, the exchange said on Friday. “The overall trend may be still weak as Shanghai stocks keep rising, but technical buying may support TOCOM rubber prices in a near term,” Yoshida said.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for July delivery STFc1 last traded at 129 U.S. cents per kg, up 2.0 cent.
($1 = 107.1500 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
