Rubber falls as oil weakens

BANGKOK - Rubber declined for the first time in three days as weakening crude oil prices cut the appeal of the commodity used to make tires and the Japanese currency strengthened.

"Oil trading below $70 a barrel is pressuring rubber markets both in Tokyo and Shanghai," said Chaiwat Muenmee, an analyst at broker DS Futures Co. "A stronger Japanese currency also cuts the appetite for yen- based contracts."

Rubber for October delivery, the most-active contract, declined as much as 9.5 yen to 267.7 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, before settling at 271 yen.

September-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.1 percent to settle at 22,005 yuan ($3,222) a ton.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 05/26/2010 page17)