Market and product

FUNDAMENTALS

* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery was down 5.4 yen at 303.8 yen per kg as of 0030GMT.

* On Friday, Shanghai rubber futures , which often track TOCOM rubber, hit their limit-high at 28,835 yuan a tonne immediately after the opening, before ending at 27,815 yuan, up from Thursday’s close at 27,615 yuan.

* Oil prices retreated on Monday as uncertainties about Europe’s plan to tackle its debt problems prompted some profit-taking after the previous session’s rally.

* The dollar edged to a fresh record low against the yen early in Asia on Monday as stops were triggered in very thin trade, keeping alive the threat of intervention from Japanese authorities.

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MARKET NEWS

* Japan’s Honda Motor Co is likely to be forced to keep its Thai factory shut for about six months due to severe flooding, a move seen affecting 3 percent of its annual global car output, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

* Receding floodwaters north of Bangkok have reduced the threat to the Thai capital, the prime minister said on Saturday, but high tides in the Gulf of Thailand will still test the city’s flood defences.

* General Motors Co sees growth of between 7 percent to 10 percent in China’s car market this year, its chief executive said on Sunday.

* Some major U.S. auto parts makers projected disappointing full-year outlooks on Friday and said the rebound in the auto industry could be more tempered than previously expected.

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Monday: – 0430 Japan Preliminary petroleum report Sep 2011 – 0500 Japan Construction orders yy Sep 2011 – 0600 Germany Retail sales yy real Sep 2011 – 0900 EZ Inflation, flash yy Oct 2011 – 1345 U.S. Chicago PMI Oct – 2000 USDA USDA crop progress report Weekly