Rubber tumbles

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures tumbled nearly 5 percent on Wednesday as a plunge in Shanghai futures sparked profit-taking following the recent rally, but posted their biggest monthly jump in 10 years. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery ended down 11.8 yen, or 4.9 percent, at 228.1 yen ($2.02) per kg. However, it jumped 24.3 percent this month, the largest monthly leap since December 2006.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery plunged 1,340 yuan to finish at 17,775 yuan ($2,583.09) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 168.1 US cents per kg, down 4.8 cents.