Tokyo futures fall 6pc to break 300 yen

FUNDAMENTALS

The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery was down 19.5 yen at 290.2 yen as of 0045 GMT. The contract fell as low as 289.5 yen, the lowest since August 2010.

On Wednesday, investors were disappointed by less-than-expected speculative buying in China ahead of a week-long national holiday starting in early October, and the March contract dropped as much 6.2 percent before closing down 3.1 percent.

Key Shanghai rubber futures fell by their daily limit at the open to 26,010 yuan per tonne on Thursday, tracking losses in Tokyo rubber futures, oil and other commodities. On Wednesday, the most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery fell 2.6 percent to close at 27,540 yuan per tonne. Volume stood at 1,349,048 lots.

The dollar was steady against the yen on Thursday at 76.54 , with investors alert for Japanese intervention ahead of the end of their financial half-year. The yen has gained 5.7 percent so far this year.

Brent crude oil futures slid more than $1 a barrel in early Asian trade, as investor concerns about Europe's sovereign debt problems mounted, the US dollar gained and US crude inventory build weighed.

MARKET NEWS

The Nikkei average fell on Thursday, after a US sell-off led by commodity-related shares as ongoing uncertainty about a resolution to Europe's debt debacle raised growth fears.

For the first time since the 1959 revolution, Cubans will have the right to buy and sell cars in a much-anticipated reform under President Raul Castro, another step toward greater economic freedom on the communist-led island.

Car sales in India are heading for growth of less than 5 percent, to their slowest in a decade, as rising fuel prices and higher cost of loans continue to bite, indicating a further slump in demand.

Copyright Reuters, 2011