RUBBER-Japan futures post 15-year closing high on rising Tokyo stocks, Shanghai rebound

Recasts with closing prices, comments and details

By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO, June 16 (Reuters) -

  • Japanese rubber futures posted a 15-year closing high on Tuesday, as record-high Tokyo equities and a sharp rebound in the Shanghai rubber market boosted sentiment.

  • The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for November delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: finished 9.1 yen, or 2.09%, higher at 445.0 yen ($2.8) per kg, the highest close since April 13, 2011.

  • The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery SNRv1 jumped 375 yuan to settle at 18,135 yuan ($2,683) per metric ton, the highest since June 3.

  • Japan's Nikkei .N225 share average climbed to a record high after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates as widely expected, without signalling urgency for further tightening in monetary policy.

  • China's economy showed increasing unevenness in May, with retail sales falling for the first time in over three years and investment slumping, while industrial output picked up pace.

  • "Rising Tokyo share prices have encouraged risk-on investment, while concerns over lower rubber production due to strong El Niño have also supported the market," said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Trusty Securities.

  • He said even if oil prices fall as U.S.-Iran peace efforts progress, it would take several months for lower feedstock costs to filter through to synthetic rubber prices. With crude oil still well above pre-conflict levels, the rubber market has seen little selling pressure, he said.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday a preliminary agreement to end the war in the Gulf has been signed by the U.S. and Iran, though details have yet to be made public and both countries said a permanent truce is yet to be negotiated.

  • Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday, as markets weighed prospects for a resumption of supply through the key Strait of Hormuz against shaky physical market drivers and a lack of details from a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.O/R

  • The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for July delivery STFc1 last traded at 232.4 U.S. cents per kg, up 1.9%.

    ($1 = 160.2900 yen)

    ($1 = 6.7585 Chinese yuan)


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