Tokyo Futures Fall, Broader Commodities Weakness Weighs

Key Tokyo rubber futures extended losses for a second day on Wednesday (January 26), with caution about the recent rapid pace in price rises and broad weakness in commodities markets a day earlier encouraging profit-taking.
The newly listed July contract, which became the benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange when it began trading on Wednesday, stood at 463.1 yen per kg as of 0014 GMT.
The previous benchmark for June delivery fell 11.2 yen or 2.3 percent to 465.4 yen. The contract hit a record high of 484.9 yen on Monday (January 24).
Deliveries against the January rubber futures contract, which expired on Tuesday (January 25) at 478.2 yen, stood at 314 lots or 1,570 tonnes, more than doubling from December's deliveries.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery fell 800 yuan from Monday's close to settle at 39,665 yuan ($6,027) per tonne on Tuesday (January 25).
Oil prices edged up on Wednesday (January 25) after falling the previous day when a contraction in Britain's economy and India's interest rate hike to rein in inflation fueled concerns about economic growth and the effect of rising commodity costs.
The euro steadied on Wednesday (January 25) after climbing to a two-month high above $1.37 the day before and looked poised to extend gains as momentum turned increasingly bullish after the currency's recent break above key chart levels.
Japanese and Korean automakers are expected to post divergent quarterly results, with Hyundai Motor continuing its sales-led profit growth and Toyota, Nissan and Honda being pounded by a firmer yen.
Global natural rubber (NR) supplies in January 2011 are estimated to rise 2.9 percent as farmers raised tapping after prices rallied to record highs, the group responsible for 92 percent of global output, said.
Rubber output from Africa's top supplier Ivory Coast will rise 5 percent this year to 238,000 tonnes as high prices tempt farmers to plant more acreage despite a political crisis, a top industry official said.
(Reuters, January 26, 2011)