Asian rubber settled off lows Thursday on strong physical demand by importers in China and its rising imports, after trading both ways in volatile trade, said trade participants.
However, physical prices of Thai USS3 raw material, though marginally lower, were still above THB96 a kilogram in the central markets even though daily arrivals rose above 100 metric tons again.
The benchmark June RSS3 contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange settled Y1.8 higher at Y302.6/kg, well off an intraday low of Y294.2.
Prices fell again during the night session, and the June contract settled at Y298/kg. Night session prices aren't included in intraday trading.
"The market is being pulled in conflicting directions as rubber's fundamentals are strong but there are concerns that China's tightening of monetary policy could suck liquidity," said an analyst in Singapore.
He said this has led to speculators and institutional investors buying and selling at regular intervals.
Traders said China is giving bearish macro-economic and bullish fundamental leads for rubber.
China imported 181,905 tons of natural rubber in December, up 68% from a year earlier, according to data provided Thursday by the General Administration of Customs.
December imports were up 51% from 120,641 tons in November.
The benchmark May contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled CNY95 lower at CNY25,350/ton, off an intraday low of CNY24,955/ton.
The benchmark August contract on the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand settled THB0.85 higher at THB106.70/kg.
Asian physical rubber was mostly lower after a day of volatile trading along with bellwether Tocom futures. But Tocom's early afternoon rebound led to some higher offers.
(Source: irco.biz)
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