Tokyo Futures Inch Higher, Future Courses Uncertain

Tokyo rubber futures inched higher on Wednesday (Mar 9), after tumbling nearly 9 percent the previous day tracking a fall in oil prices, but traders were sceptical whether the market had hit a bottom due to bearish technicals.
FUNDAMENTALS
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for August delivery was up 2.6 yen, or 0.6 percent, at 419.1 yen as of 0058 GMT.
The key contract fell 39.7 yen to settle at 416.5 yen ($5.06) per kg on Tuesday (Mar 8), the lowest since Dec. 30. That marked the biggest daily decline since September 2009.
"The market remains uncertain, but at least huge volatility is unlikely at least for today (Mar 9) due to a steep increase in margin requirements from the evening session today (Mar 9)," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at trading house Fujitomi.
The margin requirement on trading will rise to 143,000 yen from 95,000 yen from the evening session on Wednesday (Mar 9), which is counted as Thursday's (Mar 10) regular session.
The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber futures contract slumped nearly 9 percent on Tuesday (Mar 8) and increasingly bearish technicals may push prices down to 400 yen ($4.86) as early as this week.
The most active contract in the Shanghai rubber futures market for May delivery rose to 36,310 yuan per tonne as of 0111 GMT on Wednesday (Mar 9), from Tuesday's (Mar 8) settlement price of 36,205 yuan.
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday (Mar 8), with Brent falling nearly 2 percent, after Kuwait's oil minister said OPEC was considering a production boost as war-torn Libya's output remained disrupted and the region's unrest fuelled concerns about more supplies being cut off.
The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia on Wednesday (Mar 9) as worries about European sovereign debt problems tightened their grip following the recent credit rating downgrade for Greece.
(Reuters, March 9 ,2011)