TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures inched down in early trade on Friday, pulled back by overnight declines in Shanghai futures, but higher oil prices helped cap falls.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery fell 0.6 yen to 173.8 yen per kg by 0016 GMT, after settling up 0.7 yen on Thursday. For the week, the benchmark contract is little moved after two previous weeks of gains.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery SNRcv1 fell 170 yuan, or 1.4 percent, to 11,655 yuan in overnight trading.
MARKET NEWS
U.S. crude futures rose in early Asian trade on Friday, snapping a week long fall, as U.S.gasoline and distillate inventories fell by more than expected even as crude stocks climbed.
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 119.04 yen JPY= , compared with around 118.98 yen on Thursday afternoon.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 was up 1 percent.
Copper rose on Thursday on hopes for further production cuts from miners, but a rebound in the dollar kept a lid on gains.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Friday: (Time in GMT)
– 0900 Euro zone Eurostat trade Aug
– 0900 Euro zone Inflation final Sep
– 1315 U.S. Industrial output Sep
– 1400 U.S. JOLTS job openings Aug
– 1400 U.S. Univ of Michigan sentiment index Oct
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ed Davies)
