TOCOM edges higher but weak oil, Shanghai futures weigh

BEIJING: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures inched higher on Wednesday, but lower oil prices and weak Shanghai capped gains

* The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for November delivery

finished 0.3 yen ($0.0028) higher at 204.9 yen per kg

* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for September delivery fell 155 yuan  ($22.41) to finish at 12,190 yuan per tonne

* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 108.28 yen, compared with around 108.5 yen on Tuesday afternoon

* Oil prices fell nearly 2% on Wednesday, weighed down by a weaker demand outlook and a rise in U.S. crude inventories despite growing expectations of ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 0.35%

* TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for December delivery closed down 0.4 yen at 165.3 yen per kg

* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 154.1 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.8%.