Key Tokyo rubber futures fell on Friday, tracking weaker oil as investors worried about the European economy and awaited key US jobs data later in the day for clues on the US economy. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery fell 4.4 yen, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 369.5 yen per kg.
The market ended the week up 1.9 percent for its second weekly gain in a row and the biggest weekly increase in seven weeks. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery inched down 0.6 percent to close at 33,750 yuan ($5,288.891) per tonne on Friday. Volume slipped to 457,812 lots from Thursday's 515,462 lots. Bridgestone Corp, the world's largest tyre maker, bought an unspecified quantity of Thai grade for nearby shipment, while steady purchases by main consumer China helped push up physical prices in Southeast Asia, dealers said on Friday. More than 3,000 workers at a Toyota Motor Co plant in Australia walked off the job for 24 hours on Friday as part of a series of rolling strikes sparked by a pay dispute, the Australian Associated Press said.