KOBE RUBBER EXCHANGE TO EXTEND TRADING HOURS

  The Kobe Rubber Exchange said it will
  extend its trading hours from May 1 to enable more operators to
  use the exchange.
      Subject to Ministry of International Trade and Industry
  approval, the Exchange will add a sixth session starting at
  1700 local time, and will close the account for trading at the
  new session the following day before the opening call starts at
  0930 local time, an Exchange official said.
      Trading on the Singapore rubber market, a major producer
  price indicator for Japanese end-users, is usually active after
  the end of the current final session here.
      The introduction of the new session will enable
  participants to trade overnight after taking account of
  Singapore rubber prices, because brokers and members who are
  designated by the Kobe Exchange are allowed to add the volume
  traded overnight to the new final session before the opening
  session starts next day, the official said.
      But because the Kobe Exchange uses the auction system which
  sets a fixed price at each session, the price of contracts
  traded overnight should be a fixed price settled at the sixth
  session, he added.
      Industry sources said they expected the Ministry to approve
  the plan because it has encouraged the Japanese futures
  industry to expand and internationalise.
      The Tokyo Commodity Exchange for Industry, TOCOM, which
  also trades rubber futures in Japan, said it has no plans to
  introduce an extra session.
      TOCOM also has five rubber trading sessions a day. Four
  sessions start 15 minutes later than Kobe Exchange sessions,
  but both Exchanges' final sessions start at the same time.
  

