RUBBER-TOCOM futures dip on profit taking, but up 5 pct for wk
TOKYO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dipped on Friday as investors took profits, but the contract still posted a weekly gain of 5 percent on the back of stronger Japanese equities and protests in top producer and exporter Thailand.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, also got support from a weakening yen, as the dollar rose against the Japanese currency following solid U.S. data.
The key TOCOM rubber contract for February delivery edged down 0.9 yen to settle at 282.7 yen per kg, but even with the dip, the contract was still up 13.6 yen on the week.
"TOCOM rubber futures were supported this week by the Nikkei's rise on the possibility of Tokyo winning the 2020 Olympic games and the production problems in Thailand," said Gu Jiong, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co, adding Friday's dip came from investors taking profits.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5 percent on Friday, snapping a four-day winning streak, as investors opted to book profits from the recent rally in real estate and construction firms ahead of the decision this weekend if Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The support line for rubber futures was 280 yen, Jiong said, but if Tokyo was to lose its Olympics bid, he said the price could go to 270 yen or lower.
Thailand faced pressure on Friday to end a two-week protest by rubber farmers after violent overnight clashes between riot police and protesters demanding greater state support.
The U.S. dollar was quoted around 99.63 yen in afternoon Asian trade, after the dollar hit a six-week high of 100.24 yen in early trade before cautious Japanese exporters took that opportunity to convert dollars to yen.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery edged up 0.8 percent to 20,810 yuan per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 249.50 U.S. cents per kg, or 0.10 cents higher. (Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Sunil Nair)
