The equities stock market (equities) in Japan dropped after Panasonic Corp. forecast a second year of losses on a drop in demand for its consumer electronics. Tokyo Electric Power Co., said that it burned about 70% less crude oil from a year earlier as the recession limited manufacturers’ electricity usage.
“With the drop in equity markets people are taking money out of their commodity positions,” said Tetsu Emori, a commodity fund manager with Astmax Ltd. in Tokyo. “Demand will not be growing this year from last year. It all depends on the economic situation.”
The contract dropped 3.9 percent to $56.34 a barrel on May 15, the biggest decline in almost a month, after a report showed U.S. industrial production fell for a sixth month and U.S. equities posted their biggest loss in 10 weeks.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 205.47, or 2.2 percent, to 9,059.55 as of 9:26 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index slipped 17.57, or 2 percent, to 864.08.
Brent crude for July 2009 settlement was traded at $55.95 a barrel, down 3 cents, on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10;12 a.m. Singapore time.
