Rubber tumbles

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell to a fresh 7-year low on Wednesday as weak economic data in top buyer China sparked a flurry of sells and the yen jumped to a near 3-month high against the dollar after a possible nuclear test in North Korea. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for June delivery extended losses into a third day, ending 2.4 yen, or 1.6 percent, lower at 148.2 yen per kg. It earlier dipped to a low of 147.5 yen, the lowest since March 25, 2009.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 105 yuan to finish at 10,070 yuan per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 109.3 US cents per kg, down 1.2 cent.