• Rubber, little changed, may climb for a third day, as the yen retreated from
a 15-year high against the dollar on Japan’s first intervention in the currency
market since 2004.
Futures in Tokyo advanced to the highest level in almost a week after
earlier declining by as much as 0.9 percent. The appeal of yen-denominated
contracts increased as the Japanese currency declined from the highest level
since May 1995.
• Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda confirmed Japan acted to stem the yen’s
rally that threatened to stunt the nation’s export-led economic recovery.
The step came a day after Prime Minister Naoto Kan was re-elected as head
of Japan’s ruling party. The Nikkei-225 Stock Average rallied as much as
2 percent, led by exporters such as Canon Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp.
• The yen was at 84.78 to the dollar after earlier trading at 82.88, the highest
since May 1995. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said today in
a statement that he hopes the intervention will stabilize the foreign exchange
market
• Oil extended its decline after an industry report showed U.S. crude
stockpiles rose and as Enbridge Energy Partners LP said it expected to
finish welding a replacement section into a pipeline that was shut last week.
March-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.5 percent to
25,525 yuan ($3,789) a ton
By
Sangeeth. C .Cherian