Tokyo rubber futures slipped on Monday, tracking falls in share and oil prices, with renewed concern over Europe's plan to tackle its debts also weighing prices down, dealers said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for April delivery edged 1.3 yen lower to settle at 307.9 yen ($4.06) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was down 710 yuan to finish at 27,105 yuan ($4,262) per tonne. "The rubber market still lacks momentum to rise as there were a few factors that weighed on prices, including oil prices and the Europe debt crisis," one dealer said.
Oil prices fell on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and weaker demand, with investors eyeing a Group of 20 meeting later this week, which will focus on the European debt crisis. Financial and commodity markets improved briefly after policymakers struck a deal that included leveraging up a rescue fund to 1 trillion euros and a 50 percent write-down for private bondholders of Greek debt. But some investors are concerned by the lack of detail in the plan. However, dealers said they expect TOCOM to recover on Tuesday after prices finished above a psychological level of 300 yen, which was seen as a strong support level.