Rubber advanced for a third day as wet weather disrupted tapping in Thailand, limiting supply from the world’s largest producer and exporter.
The March-delivery contract climbed as much as 0.6 percent to 323.5 yen per kilogram ($3,901 a metric ton) before trading at 322.5 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 11:54 a.m. The price rose to 324.1 yen yesterday, the highest level for the most-active contract since April 26.
Shippers in Thailand have raised offers for RSS-3 grade rubber for November shipment to around $3.70 a kilogram, from $3.60 at the end of last week, said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at commodity broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo.
“Shipments from Thailand slowed as heavy rain constrained latex output in the nation’s main producing areas,” Saito said today by phone.
Gains in futures were limited after Japan’s currency climbed to a 15-year high against the dollar, weakening the appeal of yen-denominated contracts, he said.
The dollar was at 82.94 yen at 11:42 a.m. in Tokyo after sinking to 82.77 yesterday, the weakest level since May 1995 and lower than the rate on Sept. 15, when Japan intervened in the currency market for the first time since 2004.
The dollar came under pressure amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will expand credit-easing steps to sustain the U.S. recovery. The yen also advanced on prospects that Japan will avoid currency-market intervention before this week’s meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
Low Risk Appetite
“Investors’ risk appetite isn’t strong before the release of U.S. jobs data, as they are bracing for weak numbers,” Saito at Fujitomi said.
U.S. initial jobless claims likely increased by 2,000 to 455,000 in the week ended Oct. 2, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the data is released today. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.7 percent in September from 9.6 percent in August, according to a separate survey.
As the stimulus-led recovery failed to create jobs, companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut payroll by 39,000 in September, according to figures from ADP Employment. The median of a Bloomberg News survey of 37 economists projected an increase of 20,000 jobs.
The auctioned price of ribbed smoked sheets in Thailand grew 1.3 percent to 105.6 baht ($3.52), the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand said yesterday on its website.
The Shanghai market is closed for National Day holidays and will resume trade tomorrow. Natural-rubber inventories expanded 4,680 tons to 31,580 tons, based on a survey of 10 warehouses, the exchange said Sept. 30.
(bloomberg.com)
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