Tokyo rubber erases losses

Print this page Posted on : 08-26-2008 by recycleinme.com

Tokyo rubber futures reversed early losses to finish up nearly 1 per cent on Monday, as a rise in crude oil outweighed concerns that demand for tyres may fall due to an economic downturn.

The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for January delivery finished at ¥312.1 per kg, up ¥2.4 or 0.8 per cent, recovering from an intraday low of ¥304.7. It rose as high as ¥313.2. Although this marked a bounce back from last week's nearly four-month low of ¥295.7, traders were still not confident in the strength of TOCOM rubber's recovery. The spot August contract expired at ¥344.

Physical rubber traders said there were less rubber supplies available as rain in parts of Thailand, the top producer, and Malaysia, the third-largest producer, was disrupting tapping. India's synthetic rubber production rose 3.2 per cent in April-May, but rising demand from auto tyre makers led to higher imports, the Rubber Board said.

Source : Business Line