* Japanese rubber futures rose for a fourth straight session
on
Wednesday, as the yen softened and global consumers looked to
replenish their dwindling stockpiles, though traders expect
demand to remain weak in the long run.
* The Osaka Exchange's rubber contract for September
delivery finished 1.3 yen, or 0.6%, higher at 212.3 yen
($1.58) per kg.
* The benchmark contract hit an almost one-month high
earlier in
the session at 215.1 yen.
* The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for
September delivery rose 80 yuan to finish at 11,980 yuan
($1,738.45) per tonne.
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei average closed 0.18%
lower.
* "Rubber prices have been moving up as international
consumers
are back to buy spot month cargoes for their declining
inventories," said a Singapore-based rubber trader.
* "However, demand is still weak on all sides and prices are
likely to reach a certain resistance after stocks are
replenished," he said, adding that traders would need to monitor
third-quarter demand moving forward.
* Big Japanese manufacturers remained pessimistic in April
for a
fourth straight month as jitters over Western banks added to
slowing global growth, dimming prospects for an export-led
recovery.
* China's industrial output in March rose 3.9% year-on-year,
albeit slightly below expectations, and its economy grew 4.5%
year-on-year in the first quarter.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.38% against the dollar to
134.63,
as of 0703 GMT.
* A weaker yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable
when
purchased in other currencies.
* Stocks sagged in cautious trade, while the dollar paused
its
recent decline as expectations for an imminent peak in the
Federal Reserve's interest rate cycle edged ahead of U.S.
banking sector concerns.
* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's
SICOM
platform for May delivery last traded at 138.2 U.S.
cents per kg, up 0.7%.
($1 = 134.6000 yen)
($1 = 6.8912 yuan)
(Reporting by Carman Chew; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
For other physical rubber prices in Thailand, click on . For more details on Indonesian and Malaysian prices click on and .
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