TOKYO: Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures slipped on Friday, dragged down by weaker oil prices and equities, while investors adjusted positions ahead of a three-day weekend in Japan and before Chinese markets reopened on Monday after a week-long holiday.
"A decline in oil prices and equities markets amid lingering worries over the U.S.-Sino trade war dented investors' sentiment," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.
Oil markets fell on Friday, pulled down by an economic slowdown, although supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela provided crude with some support.
Asian stocks lost ground on Friday as investors worried about a broadening global economic slowdown, with sentiment not helped by the absence of any positive signs for a resolution in the U.S.-China trade row.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for July delivery finished 1.4 yen, or 0.8 percent, lower at 177.8 yen ($1.62) per kg.
The TOCOM benchmark, which sets the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, fell 0.7 percent for the week, marking a third straight weekly loss.
Japanese financial markets will be shut on Monday for a national holiday, while the Chinese markets will resume trading on Feb. 11 after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for August delivery fell 1.1 percent to close at 149.5 yen per kg.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 130.8 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.1 percent.
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