TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures edged higher early on Monday supported by firm oil prices and declining supply from Thailand, but the market lacked steam with investors on the sidelines ahead of a holiday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery was up 2.3 yen at 334.9 yen per kg as of 0010 GMT. The marked will be closed on Tuesday for a national holiday.
* Singapore commodity firm Olam International Ltd said it will invest $183 million for an 80 percent stake in a joint venture with the government of Gabon to develop 28,000 hectares of rubber plantations in the African country.
* The acrid smell of rubber is the smell of money, say the farmers of the Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, who are felling their aging cocoa trees to plant the hot new crop.
* Planned free trade negotiations between Latin America’s two biggest economies, Mexico and Brazil, are in jeopardy as a result of a dispute over auto exports, Mexico’s economy minister said on Friday.
* Indian automakers heaved a sigh of relief after the federal budget did not hike taxes on diesel cars and retained a generous subsidy on the fuel, but companies criticised a rise in an excise duty that will trigger an increase in car prices.
* Car sales in Indonesia leapt 24.2 percent year-on-year in February as increased supply met pent-up demand.
* Rubber supply in Thailand, the world’s biggest producer and exporter, is expected to fall as much as 50 percent from the current level of 250,000 tonnes a month as rubber trees will stop producing latex during the dry season. Farmers normally resume tapping in late-April and supply should pick up in May.
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MARKET NEW
* The yen was on the defensive in Asia on Monday with the euro reaching a fresh five-month high against the Japanese currency, while the dollar nursed losses following a setback late last week.
* Oil prices extended gains on Monday after rising more than 2 percent in the previous session on support from the continuing tensions over Iran’s disputed nuclear program and the potential for supply disruptions in the region along with the weaker dollar.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday:
- 1400 U.S. NAHB housing market indx Mar
(Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Exchange rate (Eximbank)
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