Tokyo futures fall on firmer yen after U.S. Fed comments

Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures fell on Thursday, falling from a 1-week high and the key 200-yen mark hit the previous day, as investors took profits after the yen rose against the U.S. dollar.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for December delivery was down 2.2 yen, or 1.1 percent, at 199.6 yen ($1.76) per kg as of 0043 GMT, after jumping more than two percent the previous day.

* The U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, although low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.

* Some dealers said investors were eyeing the impact of tighter regulations on immigrant labour that were recently adopted by Thailand, the world's biggest rubber producer. Tens of thousands of migrant workers, most of them from Myanmar, have fled from Thailand in fear after new labour regulations.

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MARKET NEWS

* The dollar lost about 0.7 percent overnight against the yen, pulling back from a 4-month high near 114.495 scaled earlier, after Fed Yellen said interest rates hikes would be gradual. It was quoted around 113.33 yen in early Thursday. A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies.

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average climbed 0.3 percent on Thursday after global equities rallied the previous day, lifting the Dow to a record high.

* Oil futures rose, maintaining some gains from earlier in the day, as a report showing hefty drawdowns in U.S. crude inventories was offset by data pointing to lackluster gasoline demand.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

* The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)

0600 Germany Final consumer prices Jun

0645 France Consumer prices (INSEE) Jun

1230 U.S. Producer prices Jun

1230 U.S. Jobless claims weekly

1000/1400 U.S. Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivers her 2nd day of semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee ($1 = 113.3400 yen)