TOCOM hits 1-month low as investors square positions ahead of China holiday

• Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures plunged to a 1-month low on Friday as investors squared positions ahead of China's long national holiday, amid concerns about oversupply, while clocking a second straight weekly loss.
• Chinese financial markets will be closed between Oct. 1 and 7 for the National Day holiday and will reopen on Oct. 8.

TOKYO: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures plunged to a 1-month low on Friday as investors squared positions ahead of China's long national holiday, amid concerns about oversupply, while clocking a second straight weekly loss.

* The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for March delivery

finished 4.8 yen, or 2.9% lower, at 161.5 yen ($1.5) per kg. It hit the lowest since Aug. 26 of 156.6 yen earlier in the session. For the week, it fell 3.1%.

* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 305 yuan to finish at 11,425 yuan ($1,603) per tonne. China's new technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last down 195 yuan at 9,785 yuan per tonne.

* "Investors were unwinding their long positions ahead of China's long holiday next week," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co

* "With lingering oversupply worries, rubber prices are expected to stay under pressure next week," he said.

* Chinese financial markets will be closed between Oct. 1 and 7 for the National Day holiday and will reopen on Oct. 8.

* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.2 percent from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday.

* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 107.79 yen, compared with around 107.64 yen on Thursday afternoon

* Oil prices fell on Friday as economic headwinds revived concerns of slowing global demand growth and a faster-than-expected recovery in Saudi crude oil output eased worries over potential major supply disruptions.

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average shares fell 0.8% on Friday.

* TOCOM's TSR 20 futures contract for March delivery closed unchanged at 148.9 yen per kg.

* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 124.7 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.9%.