SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday, pressured by a stronger yen and a decline in Tokyo equities, while logging a weekly gain as Chinese tyre production recovered more ground.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was down 4.1 yen, or 0.91 percent, at 447.9 yen (USD2.85) per kg. The contract gained 0.38 percent this week. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery rose 45 yuan, or 0.23 percent, to 19,705 yuan (USD2,953.34) per metric ton.
The most active December butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE surged 515 yuan, or 3.29 percent, to 16,185 yuan per metric ton. The prices of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber were down 0.55 percent and 1.21 percent at 95.83 baht per kg and 88.47 baht per kg, respectively.
The Japanese yen was set for its biggest weekly gain since early September, buoyed by safe-haven flows as risk aversion took hold in the broader markets. The yen firmed as much as 0.4 percent on Friday to 156.08 per dollar, its strongest level in more than a month, before giving up those gains to trade at 156.89 by midday.
A stronger currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers. Japan’s Nikkei share gauge fell on Friday, while the nation’s bonds surged and its currency touched a one-month high as heightening concerns about the AI sector spurred demand for haven assets.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 .N225 fell 0.34 percent to close at 62,693.16. Top consumer China’s semi-steel tyre production rate rose to 64.78 percent as of October 22, from 60.43 percent a week earlier, while the all-steel tyre production rate climbed to 57.7 percent from 52.22 percent, data from rubber information provider Qinrex showed.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 251.1 US cents per kg, up 0.9 percent as of 0700 GMT.