Commodities markets shivered on Friday in the face of US President Barack Obama's threats of tough restrictions on how banks make money in riskier assets, fuelling fears of slower growth and softer demand.
Cash prices tracked Tokyo futures lower, but sellers expect buying interest to resurface later in the day on worries the Japanese market could rebound next week. Physical prices are within reach of their highest level in 56 years. "I think quite a number of buyers are waiting for a correction. We might see buying interest coming back to the market," said a dealer in Thailand's southern city of Hat Yai.
The yen surged against the dollar and the euro as a break of key support triggered stop-loss sales, while risk appetite lessened due to the White House proposals to regulate US banks. Oil fell below $76 a barrel, the lowest in a month, after refiners in top consumer the United States processed the least crude in decades, reacting to a fuel demand slump, while talk of bank trading curbs upset speculators.
Deliverable rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged up 0.8 percent in the week ended Thursday, the exchange said on Friday. Deliverable rubber inventories rose to 151,832 tonnes from 150,693 tonnes the week before, and stocks on warrant rose 1,620 tonnes from a week earlier to 124,105 tonnes.