SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures rose for a third straight session on Friday, supported by a weaker yen and a rally in Tokyo equities, though the contract posted a weekly decline as oil prices fell.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for February delivery was up2.3 yen, or 0.54percent, at 430.2 yen (USD2.74) per kg. The contract lost 0.19percent this week. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery fell 250 yuan, or 1.32percent, to 18,670 yuan (USD2,787.86) per metric ton.
The most active October butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE lost 320 yuan, or 2.14percent, to 14,645 yuan per metric ton.
The yen sank against its major peers in Asian trading on Friday, after a widely expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan failed to halt the currency’s decline.
A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. Against that backdrop, the Nikkei surged 1.7percent to 65,221.53, topping the psychological 65,000 mark for the first time in more than a week.
Thai latex and cup lump prices have been relatively strong recently, with upstream processing plants holding low inventories and showing a strong willingness to restock, providing cost support for natural rubber, said analysts from broker Guangzhou Futures in a report.
Oil prices fell 2percent on Friday, extending losses for a third straight session, as easing concerns over Saudi supply disruptions outweighed anxiety about a widening Middle East conflict.
Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for December delivery last traded at 235.3 US cents per kg, down 0.9percent as of 0700 GMT.
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