SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday, tracking losses in the Shanghai market and weaker domestic equities, as continued strict COVID-19 curbs amid rising cases in top consumer China weighed on sentiment.
The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for April delivery was down 2.5 yen, or 1.2%, at 210.1 yen ($1.42) per kg as of 0030 GMT. The benchmark contract has dropped about 0.1% for the week. The OSE was closed on Thursday for a public holiday in Japan. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was down 20 yuan, or 0.2%, at 12,180 yuan ($1,668) per tonne.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average opened down 1.05%. China’s COVID-19 cases hit their highest in two and a half months on Thursday after the health authority stuck by its strict containment policy, dampening investor hopes for an easing of curbs battering the world’s number two economy. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for December delivery last traded at 121.1 US cents per kg, down 0.2%.
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