RUBBER-Tokyo futures edge lower, focus shifts to Thai supply

Tokyo rubber futures edged down on Wednesday, a day after hitting a two-week high, as investors shifted their focus to an expected increase in supply from Thailand later this month.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery was down 0.1 percent at 275.5 yen per kg as of 0040 GMT.

* The benchmark contract on Tuesday climbed as high as 280.3 yen, the highest since March 28.

* The Thai government is to host a regional rubber seminar in Phuket on April 10-12, when government representatives from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to discuss how to stabilise rubber prices.

* The dry season is almost over in Thailand, the world's biggest rubber producer. Historically, Thai supply increases after the end of the country's three-day Songkran water festival on April 16.

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MARKET NEWS

* The yen bobbed around a nearly four-year low against the dollar on Wednesday, with strategists expecting the Japanese currency to weaken past the 100-yen level in coming days now that the Bank of Japan has unleashed its most ambitious monetary expansion campaign.

* Japan's Nikkei share average was up 0.9 percent on Wednesday morning.

* Brent crude futures rose above $105 per barrel on Tuesday after data showed China's inflation in March was slower than expected, giving its central bank room to keep monetary policy easy and support oil demand in the world's second-biggest consumer.