TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dipped to a 4-month low on Friday, extending losses into a fourth straight day, pressured by a firm yen and technical selling, which led to a seventh straight weekly loss. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for November delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 2.8 yen, or 1.9 percent, lower at 148.0 yen ($1.39) per kg, after touching a low of 147.5 yen, the lowest since Feb.15.
Battered by the stronger yen and worries about slack demand in top buyer China, the TOCOM futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, lost 6.3 percent for the week, falling for the seventh week in a row, its longest losing streak since February 2014. “The strong yen was behind the bearish market trend,” said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co.
The dollar was down 0.1 percent against the yen at 107.02 yen JPY= , but was still up 0.4 percent in a choppy week that saw it touch 106.26 yen on Thursday, its lowest since May 4.A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies.
FRX/ “Also, technical selling gathered momentum after the benchmark fell through May’s low of 154.3 yen yesterday, but I think there will be a rebound next week as prices have fallen quite a bit this week,” Gu said. Chinese markets were closed on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat festival holiday.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for July delivery STFc1 last traded at 122.2 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.8 cent.
($1 = 106.7000 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sunil Nair)
