Rubber fall attributed to debt crisis and weak US results

ERJ staff report (BC)

Bangkok – Rubber declined strongly over a week, reports Supunnabul Suwannakij of Bloomberg, on concern that demand for the commodity will weaken as Europe’s debt crisis is deepening and pending US home sales fell.

The contract for delivery in September fell as much as 2.2 percent since March 22, to 276.4 yen per kilogram ($2 936 or €2 294 per tonne) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, says Bloomberg, and was at 276.7 yen at 10:49 a.m. Futures have lost 8.5 percent this year.

Asian stocks fell and Japanese currency strengthened as a bailout for Cyprus and a political deadlock in Italy raised concerns the region’s debt crisis is deepening. Fewer Americans signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes in February, indicating a pause in momentum for an industry that is helping power the economy.

“Market players become very sensitive about Italian political problem and Cyprus,” Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research company Market Risk Advisory in Tokyo, is reported to have said. “Weak U.S. economic data are also bearish.”

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