TOKYO: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber futures fell on Thursday, as a drop in Shanghai prices, a higher yen and concerns over heightened Sino-US tensions outweighed healthy economic data from top buyer China.
TOCOM's rubber contract for December delivery finished 0.9 yen lower at 155.6 yen ($1.45) per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 85 yuan to finish at 10,535 yuan ($1,505) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 116.0 US cents per kg, down 1.2%. US Customs placed a detention order on imports of products made by subsidiaries of the world's largest medical glove maker, Malaysia's Top Glove Corp Bhd on Wednesday, an action taken against firms suspected of using forced labour.
A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies. The US dollar was quoted around 106.94 yen, compared with 107.25 yen the previous day.
"The recent optimism of a swift global economic recovery has withered, with deteriorating relations between the United States and China adding to pressure," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.
Risk appetite took a hit on worries about a wide-ranging dispute between the two nations over the control of advanced technologies and the protection of civil liberties in Hong Kong.
Market sentiment was also dented by weaker Japanese shares amid worries over rising coronavirus cases in Tokyo and softer oil prices following an agreement by OPEC and allies to taper record supply curbs from August.
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