TOCOM snaps 4-session losing streak, US-China talks eyed

TOKYO: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures inched higher in thin trade on Wednesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, with most investors staying on the sidelines as they waited for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this week.

The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for December delivery finished 0.2 yen higher at 192.6 yen  ($1.79) per kg.

Trump and Xi will meet for the first time in seven months to discuss deteriorating ties between the world's two largest economies. But prospects of progress look slim as neither side has given ground after talks broke down in May.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery finished steady at 11,615 yuan ($1,687) per tonne.

"The trade was light ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting," a Tokyo-based dealer said. "There is limited room for upside because of weakening physical prices in Thailand, but downside risk may be also limited if the yen gets weaker against the U.S. dollar as a result of good outcome from the U.S.-China trade talks," he said.

The U.S. dollar was quoted around 107.60 yen on Wednesday, compared with around 107.03 yen on Tuesday afternoon

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday to their highest in nearly a month as industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected, underpinning a market already buoyed by worries over a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average fell on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman pushed back on pressure from President Trump to cut interest rates.

TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for December delivery closed up 0.2 yen at 158.4 yen per kg

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 148.5 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.7%.