TOCOM plunges on tumbling Shanghai amid trade worries on April 18

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures plunged more than two percent to an about 1-week low on Thursday, weighed down by tumbling Shanghai futures amid lingering worries over U.S.-Sino trade talks.

* The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for September delivery

finished 4.4 yen, 2.3 percent, lower at 187.1 yen ($1.67) per kg, hitting the lowest since April 10.

* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery plunged 255 yuan to finish at 11,400 yuan ($1,702) per tonne.

* “Rubber prices in both Shanghai and Tokyo were under pressure due to lingering concerns over U.S.-Sino trade talks since there has been no clear outcome,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

* Washington and Beijing set a tentative timeline for a fresh round of face-to-face meetings ahead of a possible signing ceremony in late May or early June, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

* There has been new progress in negotiating the text of a Sino-U.S. trade deal, but work remains to be done, China’s commerce ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, told a regular news briefing on Thursday.

* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 111.88 yen, compared with around 111.98 yen on Wednesday afternoon

* Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, supported by ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts and a surprise fall in U.S. crude inventories, although gains were capped by strong U.S. production.

* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average retreated from a 4-1/2-month high on Thursday as defensive stocks fell.

* TOCOM’s technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for October delivery closed down 2.1 percent at 168.5 yen per kg

* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 148.7 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.3 percent.