Tokyo rubber flat, Shanghai down

Key Tokyo rubber futures finished almost flat on Thursday with investors taking a wait-and-see stance on uncertainties over the state of the US economy and supply in Thailand. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery settled down 2.2 yen or 0.6 percent at 387.8 yen per kg.
The market has been trapped in narrow ranges of between 380 yen and 400 yen in the past two weeks as investors seek clues to its direction. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for September delivery closed at 33,035 yuan per tonne, down from Wednesday's 33,040 yuan. Volume stood at 1,026,794 lots.
"A slowdown in car demand in the US and China has firmly capped the upside, while the downside is also firm due to prospects of limited supply from Thailand," said Naoki Asami, chief broker at commodity brokerage Kanetsu. Farmers in Thailand have resumed tapping but supply has not risen to normal levels because unseasonable rain has disrupted work.