Japanese rubber futures slide

SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures slid on Friday, tracking losses in the Shanghai market, as continued concerns over slowing demand in top consumer China amid fresh lockdown measures in multiple cities weighed on sentiment.

The Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for February delivery was down 1.5 yen, or 0.7%, at 217.3 yen ($1.55) per kg as of 0200 GMT. The benchmark hit its lowest since mid-October, and has declined about 4% for the week.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was down 160 yuan, or 1.3%, at 12,290 yuan ($1,780) per tonne. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average opened up 0.34%. Previous months had seen concerns over slowing rubber demand in top buyer China as it suffers from a property crisis, heat waves that disrupted production and extended lockdowns that hit industrial activity and consumption.

The southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chengdu announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents as it launched four days of citywide COVID-19 testing, as some of the country’s most populous and economically important cities battle outbreaks.