Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures pared early gains to end steady on Tuesday, as a stronger yen against the US dollar and lingering worries about oversupply in Asia weighed on market sentiment. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for July delivery finished 0.1 yen higher at 189.3 yen ($1.76) per kg after rising to as high as 190.6 yen earlier in the session. It touched a 2-1/2 month low last Friday.
Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a national holiday. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 75 yuan to finish at 12,450 yuan ($1,962) per tonne.
"Rubber markets are in a bearish tone as investors are worried about rising inventories," a Tokyo-based dealer said. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.3 percent from the previous Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 144.7 US cents per kg, down 0.1 cent. Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 14,736 tonnes as of Jan. 31, up 10.7 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Friday.
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