Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures inched lower in thin trade on Monday, weighed down by a drop in Tokyo equities and broader weakness in commodities, but losses look set to be curbed by falling rubber inventories in Shanghai and Japan.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery had declined 0.9 yen, or 0.6 percent, to 161.9 yen ($1.32) per kg by 0030 GMT, after booking a weekly gain of nearly 2 percent and ending above the key psychological ceiling of 160 yen. RUB/T
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 17.0 percent from the Friday before, the bourse said on Friday.
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 10,605 tonnes as of Nov. 10, down 4.2 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Friday.
MARKET NEWS
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) was down 0.5 percent in Monday trade after major Wall Street averages were little changed in an abbreviated post-Thanksgiving session last Friday, as markets closed at 1 p.m. ET (1800 GMT). MKTS/GLOB
The U.S. dollar was at 122.81 JPY= , still in consolidation mode after reaching a three-month peak of 123.77 earlier in November. FRX/
Oil settled lower in light post-holiday volume in New York on Friday as the dollar’s rally to an eight-month high and a tumble in Chinese equities added pressure to oversupplied crude futures.
Nickel tumbled on Friday despite a group of Chinese producers saying they planned to cut output, on scepticism about whether the cuts would be implemented. MET/L
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
The following data is expected on Monday: (Time in GMT)
1300 Germany Consumer prices Nov
1445 U.S. Chicago PMI Nov
1500 U.S. Pending homes sales Oct
($1 = 122.7700 yen)
