Market and product
Cabot to acquire activated carbon firm
Rubber jumped by the most in a weekas its slump to the lowest level in more than two yearsattracted buyers amid speculation that a rally in oil may boostthe price of competing synthetic products used in tires.
The November-delivery contract advanced as much as 3.7percent to 240.2 yen a kilogram ($2,990 a metric ton) beforetrading at 239.2 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 11:38a.m. local time. The most-active contract has dropped 27 percentthis quarter, the most since the final three months of 2008,when the global financial crisis hurt commodity prices. It haslost 9.2 percent in the first half, touching a low of 227.8 yen.
Oil rose after Tropical Storm Debby shut rigs and disruptedoutput in the Gulf of Mexico. Futures also advanced as theJapanese currency traded at a two-month low against the dollar,making yen-denominated contracts more attractive to investors,said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo.
“Futures were bought back amid a view that they wereoversold,” Saito said by phone. “The market was also supportedby speculation that oil prices may advance further.”
Oil for August delivery rose as much as 92 cents to $80.68a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $79.97.About 23 percent of output in the Gulf was halted before Debbyshifted eastward yesterday, according to the U.S. Bureau ofSafety and Environmental Enforcement.
The yen weakened to 80.62 per dollar today, the lowestlevel since April 27, amid speculation that the Bank of Japanmay expand monetary stimulus. Japan’s parliament approved onJune 21 the government’s nominees to the BOJ’s board, confirmingtwo economists who have signaled support for further easing.
September-delivery rubber in Shanghai lost 0.2 percent to22,520 yuan ($3,531) a ton. Natural-rubber inventories gained846 tons to 17,988 tons, based on a survey of nine warehouses inChina, the Shanghai Futures Exchange said on June 21.
Thai rubber on a free on board basis dropped 1.9 percent to104.9 baht ($3.29) a kilogram June 22, according to the RubberResearch Institute of Thailand. Output has improved whileoverseas demand has weakened, it said.
