TOCOM ends higher on soft yen, firm Shanghai

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended up 0.7% on Monday, recovering from a five-week low hit in the previous session, buoyed by a softer yen and a slight gain in Shanghai futures, brokers said. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished 3.1 yen higher at 213.6 yen (US$1.90) per kg. The contract had slipped to 208.2 yen on Friday, the lowest since Aug 15, partly as concerns about supply tightness in Asia eased. The front-month September contract expired on Monday, settling unchanged after no trades were executed. The Japanese unit weakened 0.3% to 112.30 yen per dollar, aided by renewed hopes of an economic stimulus package from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he is expected to announce a snap election, to be held on Oct 22. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures exchange for January delivery rose 45 yuan to finish at 14,580 yuan (US$2,205) per tonne, as the yuan fell to its lowest level in nearly four weeks. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 151.5 US cents per kg, down 1.9 cent.