TOCOM slide to 2-1/2-week low on position adjustments

TOKYO:   * Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures slid to a 2-1/2-week low on Monday due to position adjustments, but all eyes were on meeting between the Chinese and U.S. presidents at this week’s G20 summit for any signs of a thaw in U.S.-China relations.

* The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for November delivery

finished 1.8 yen lower at 198.0 yen  ($1.84) per kg, after hitting the lowest since June 6 of 195.6 yen earlier in the session.

* “Investors were unwinding long positions ahead of an expiration of June contract today,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.

* “The market’s biggest interest is fresh negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping about a U.S.-China trade deal,” he added.

* Both China and the United States should make compromises in trade talks, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Monday, ahead of a much anticipated meeting between the Chinese and U.S. presidents at this week’s G20 summit in Japan.

* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery sank 155 yuan to finish at 11,600 yuan ($1,686) per tonne.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not seeking war with Tehran after a senior Iranian military commander warned any conflict in the Gulf region could spread uncontrollably and threaten the lives of U.S. troops.

* Oil prices rose on Monday to extend gains from last week, bolstered as tensions remain high between Iran and the United States after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “significant” sanctions would be announced on Tehran.

* The U.S. dollar nudged up 0.1% to 107.395 yen after retreating to a near six-month low of 107.045 on Friday.

* Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average edged higher in cautious trade on Monday as investors looked ahead to this week’s G20 summit amid a backdrop of rising trade and geopolitical tensions.

* TOCOM’s technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for December delivery closed down 2.1 yen at 157.4 yen per kg

* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 146.2 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.1%.