FUNDAMENTALS

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was up 3.9 yen, or 2 percent, at 197.7 yen ($1.80) per kg as of 0058 GMT, after touching a high of 199.7 yen, the highest since Aug.11, 2015. It rose 2.1 percent the previous day. RUB/T

Mitsubishi Motors Corp (JP3899800001) admitted to manipulating test data to overstate the fuel economy of 625,000 cars sold in Japan, knocking its shares down more than 15 percent and wiping $1.2 billion off its market value on Wednesday.

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in seven years in the first quarter, however, indicators from the country’s consumer, investment and factory sectors point to nascent signs the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy may be bottoming out.

MARKET NEWS

Oil prices rose 4 percent on Wednesday after a smaller-than-expected build in U.S.crude inventories offset glut worries stirred by the end of a Kuwaiti strike, and as oil bulls bet that major crude producers would meet again to try to curtail output.

Aluminium hit a six-month peak on Wednesday as the appetite for risk increased among investors who took a more upbeat view on the Chinese economy.A bounce in oil prices also bolstered metals markets, helping send zinc to the highest since July last year and copper to a four-week high.

Gains in oil along with other commodities helped push the Thomson Reuters Core Commodity Index .TRJCRB up 2 percent to highest level since December.Chicago Board of Trade soybean, wheat and corn futures all climbed.

The U.S. dollar was traded within a whisker of 110.00 yen JPY= in early Thursday, off this week’s trough of 107.75. FRX/

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average (XC0009692440) jumped about two percent in Thursday trade, after Wall Street ended less than 2 percent short of a record-high close the previous day. .N

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

The following data is expected on Thursday: (Time in GMT)

0645 France Business climate Apr

1145 European Central Bank announces policy meeting outcome

1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims

1230 U.S. National activity index Mar

1230 U.S. Philly Fed business index Apr

1300 U.S. Monthly home price index Feb

1400 U.S. Leading index Mar 1400 Euro zone Consumer confidence Apr

($1 = 109.7400 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Richard Pullin)

http://globalrubbermarkets.com/42717/tokyo-rubber-futures-surge-8-month-high-stronger-oil.html