Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended flat on Wednesday as buying following gains in Shanghai futures were offset by selling due to weaker oil prices and a stronger yen, dealers said. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for August delivery finished unchanged at 193.8 yen ($1.8) per kg.
"The TOCOM rubber has recovered by a third of what it had lost since mid-January to mid-February, thanks to a recovery in Shanghai futures after the Lunar New Year holiday," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 170 yuan to finish at 13,030 yuan ($2,059) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 149.5 US cents per kg, down 1.4 cents. Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 14,956 tonnes as of February 10, up 1.5 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Wednesday.
Oil prices fell as weak Chinese and Japanese industrial data triggered concerns of an economic slowdown that could lower oil demand, and as an industry data report showed an increase in US crude stockpiles amid soaring output. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 107.18 yen. "The market is trying to put a floor at around 193 yen mark and, if successful, it could try around 197 yen next," he said.
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