TOKYO: Key TOCOM rubber futures were steady on Thursday, holding near a three-week high after rising for three out of the previous four sessions, as firm oil prices supported prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery <0#2JRU:> was trading 0.1 yen lower at 205.2 yen as of 0007 GMT.
It had earlier hit a high of 205.5 yen, the same intraday peak as Wednesday, which was the highest since May 28.
* Against the yen, the greenback dipped to 101.85 from a one-week high of 102.38.
* Singapore-listed rubber firm Halcyon Agri Corp Ltd is in talks to buy rubber processing plants in Indonesia from Lee Rubber for S$400 million to S$500 million ($320 million -$400 million), three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending at a record after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slightly faster pace of interest-rate increases starting next year but suggested rates in the long run would be lower than it had indicated previously.
* The U.S. dollar wallowed at its lowest in nearly two weeks against a basket of major currencies early on Thursday, having beat a hasty retreat after the Federal Reserve signalled that interest rates will stay low for a while yet.
* Brent crude rose to a nine-month high on Wednesday as investors worried about exports from Iraq, while U.S. crude dipped after government numbers showed domestic crude inventories fell much less than an industry group had reported.
* Japan's Nikkei share average extended gains on Thursday.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)
- 1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
- 1400 U.S. Leading index May
- 1400 U.S. Philly Fed business index June- Reuters
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