SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures inched lower on Friday, tracking a weak Shanghai market, although upbeat Tokyo equities and domestic economic data limited the losses.

The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for September delivery was down 0.6 yen, or 0.2 %, at 260.0 yen ($2.10) per kg, as of 0126 GMT. The benchmark was on track for its first weekly drop in four. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average was up 0.6% in early trade on Friday. Japan’s current account balance swung back into black in February from its second-biggest deficit on record in the previous month, providing some respite for policymakers amid a deterioration in economic fundamentals.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery was down 85 yuan, or 0.6 %, at 13,510 yuan ($2,125.42) per tonne. China reported 1,576 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 7, the country’s national health authority said on Friday, compared with 1,323 a day earlier.