Japan Rubber Commodity Climb as Yen Retreated

Rubber commodities in Japan analised to climb as the yen retreated from a 15-year high against the dollar on Japan?s first intervention in the currency market about six years ago.

Rubber delivery in February gain as much as 0.9 yen to 298 yen per kilogram ($3,526 a metric ton) before trading at 297 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 12:28 p.m. local time. The contract has advanced 7.6 percent this year.

Rubber delivery in March on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.5 percent to 25,525 yuan ($3,789) a ton. Gains in rubber futures were limited as crude oil declined for a second day, cutting the cost of making rival synthetic products used in tires.

Rubber commodities futures in Tokyo advanced to the highest level in almost a week after earlier declining by as much as 0.9 percent. The appeal of yen-denominated contracts increased as the Japanese currency declined from the highest level since May 1995.

Japan acted to stem the yen?s rally that threatened to stunt the nation?s export-led economic recovery. The step came a day after Prime Minister Naoto Kan was re-elected as head of Japan?s ruling party. The Nikkei-225 Stock Average rallied as much as 2 percent, led by exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc.

Rubber futures reacted to the movement in the currency market,? Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Tokyo-based broker Fujitomi Co., said. A weaker yen is positive for Japan?s export-dependent manufacturing industries, supporting raw- material demand.