TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures edged higher on Monday, recovering from last week’s fall as tyre makers in top consumer China gradually resumed production, though a selloff in Tokyo equities limited gains.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was up 1.2 yen, or 0.27 percent, at 451.5 yen (USD2.86) per kg.
The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery fell 200 yuan, or 1 percent, to 19,705 yuan (USD2,949.41) per metric ton.
The most-active November butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE lost 280 yuan, or 1.73 percent, to 15,870 yuan per ton.
The OSE contract fell 2.1 percent last week, correcting from overbought conditions after a recent rally in thin trade, while the broader uptrend remained intact, Japan Exchange Group said in a report.
Tyre manufacturers are gradually resuming production in China, lifting overall capacity utilisation, though persistently high raw material costs led some firms to keep output under control, analysts from broker Chaos Ternary Futures said in a note.
Rising inventories have also curbed purchasing appetite, the analysts said.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.4 percent week-on-week, the exchange said on Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Monday as valuation concerns in the technology sector lingered ahead of key results this week.
Weakness in global equities and growing concerns over AI-related stocks, particularly semiconductor shares, shadowed market sentiment, said Japan Exchange Group.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 251.3 US cents per kg, down 0.1 percent as of 0707 GMT.
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