TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rebounded more than 2 percent on Tuesday, recovering from near a 6-year low, as investors looked for bargains after the last week’s downtrend and as a fall in the yen against the U.S.dollar lent support, dealers said.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, lost more than three percent last week, hitting the lowest since July 2009, because of worries about slowing demand growth in major buyer China. But the TOCOMrubber contract for April delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: finished 3.7 yen, or 2.4 percent, higher on Tuesday at 158.6 yen ($1.29) per kg, the highest in about one week. “The lower yen and a gain in the Tokyo stock market helped boost investors’ risk appetite and improve the market sentiment,” said Satoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities.
Against the yen, the U.S. dollar was buying 123.35 yen JPY= , up 0.2 percent on the day and nor far from the previous day’s 2-1/2-month high of 123.60. FRX/ A weaker yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable when purchased in other currencies.
Japan’s Nikkei (XC0009692440) edged up to a 2-1/2-month high on Tuesday in a choppy session, supported by week’s solid U.S.jobs data kept the dollar well bid against the yen.
.T “Still, I think the market will stay under pressure from softer commodities prices that are expected to outweigh the help from a softer yen and higher Nikkei,” Yoshida said. The most active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery SNRcv1 had risen 250 yuan to close at 10,740 yuan ($1,688.60) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery STFc1 last traded at 116.7 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.9 cent. ($1 = 123.1500 yen) ($1 = 6.3603 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi, editing by Louise Heavens)
