RUBBER-Tokyo futures rebound, China in focus

Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures rebounded on a pickup in U.S. economic growth and as the Federal Reserve gave no indication it was planning to reduce monetary stimulus imminently, with focus shifting to key data later in the day from top rubber buyer China.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for January delivery was trading up 1.5 percent at 244.0 yen per kg at 0043 GMT, after settling 1.4 percent lower on Thursday.

* U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, a report showed on Wednesday, laying a firmer foundation for the rest of the year.

* The Fed on Wednesday said the U.S. economy continues to improve but is still in need of support, offering no indication that it is planning to reduce its bond-buying stimulus at its next meeting in September.

* China will release its official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) later in the day and activity in the world's second largest manufacturing sector may have contracted in July for the first time in 10 months, a Reuters poll showed.

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MARKET NEWS

* The yen was just under a one-month high of 97.585 versus the dollar in early Asian trade on Thursday, after the greenback slipped overnight.

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average edged up 0.2 percent, with investors looking for cues from corporate earnings results and global economic data later in the day.

* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index rose 0.8 percent on Wednesday, as metals, oil and crop prices mostly gained.