TOKYO: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber futures fell on Thursday for a second straight day amid growing doubts about a speedy recovery from Covid-19 pandemic and as businesses said they are laying off staff and forcing pay cuts.
TOCOM's rubber contract for November delivery finished 0.4 yen lower at 156.8 yen per kg.
The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 5 yuan to finish at 10,315 yuan per tonne.
A spike in cases in the United States and China, the world's largest rubber consumer, has raised the prospect of a second wave of the pandemic, extending the economic pain of lockdowns and other restrictions.
In Japan, a majority of companies said they have taken measures including lay offs and pay cuts to cope with the impact of the outbreak on the world's third-biggest economy, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.-Reuters