Tokyo rubber rallies, ends up almost 3 percent

Tag : crude rubber

TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) - Tokyo rubber futures rallied on Monday,fully recouping initial modest losses and then rising nearly 3percent on a brisk recovery in crude oil prices.
* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract forNovember delivery <0#JRU:> climbed as high as 346.6 yen perkg, up 9.0 yen or about 2.7 percent before easing to finish at345.0 yen.
This marked a sharp recovery from the day's trough of 335.5 yen,which was down 2.1 yen or 0.6 percent from Friday's close.
* Market sentiment turned bullish when the benchmark held aboveFriday's low of 334 yen, a Tokyo broker said. Oil's bounce alsoprovided upward impetus.
"Those with short positions gave up, and started to cover theirpositions," he said.
* He said that the market could test the 354 yen level reached onJune 12, which was the highest since March 1980, but that it wouldprobably take more than technical factors to lift prices abovethat.
Higher crude oil prices often lead to buying of natural rubber asthey make synthetic rubber, a petroleum product, more expensive.
* Japan's crude rubber inventories fell about 5 percent to 10,683tonnes in the 10 days to June 10, which was also down 36 percentfrom the same time a year earlier, the Rubber Trade Association ofJapan said on Monday.
* U.S. crude futures rose on Monday as escalating tensions betweenIsrael and Iran countered the impact of Saudi Arabia's promise topump more oil and a vow by Nigerian militants to halt attacks onoil facilities in the delta. Continued...