TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures dipped on Wednesday as speculators unwound long positions after China's vehicle sales fell 20% in September while surging energy costs fuelled concerns the global economic recovery might be derailed.

The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for March delivery was down 2.8 yen, or 1.2%, at 224.4 yen ($2.0) per kg as of 0407 GMT. It plunged over 3% earlier in the session, tracking a steep drop in Shanghai market.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was down 245 yuan, or 1.7%, at 14,565 yuan ($2,260) per tonne on Wednesday, after tumbling over 5% to as low as 14,015 yuan earlier in the session.

"Weakening auto sales in China prompted speculators who raised long positions late last week to unwind their positions," Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co, said.

Japanese rubber futures jump on Shanghai rally, weaker yen

"Relatively thin trade helped accelerate the fall in both Osaka and Shanghai," he said.

China's auto sales slumped 19.6% in September from a year earlier, industry data showed on Tuesday, falling for a fifth consecutive month as a prolonged global shortage of semiconductors and a domestic power crunch disrupt production.

The International Monetary Fund cut growth outlooks for the United States and other major industrial powers.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 171.7 US cents per kg, down 1.1%.