SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures slipped to log their biggest weekly loss in more than four months on Friday, tracking losses in Tokyo equities as investors unwound positions in a global tech sell-off.
The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for April delivery was down 9.2 yen, or 2.12 percent, at 424.1 yen (USD2.69) per kg. It touched its lowest since September 16 earlier in the day.
The contract lost 4.14 percent this week, declining for the fourth consecutive week, the most since the week ended June 26. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery fell 355 yuan, or 1.87 percent, to 18,585 yuan (USD2,786.65) per metric ton.
The most active December butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE rose 80 yuan, or 0.51 percent, to 15,735 yuan per metric ton. Japan’s Nikkei share average logged its worst week in more than six years on Friday as tech stocks tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, with investors worrying that new political equations in the US could weigh on AI development. The tech-heavy Nikkei ended down 6 percent.
Rubber is likely being affected by sentiment in equity markets, with the market unwinding positions and adjusting for risk, a Singapore-based trader said.
The Japanese yen hit a one-week high of 157.27 a dollar before paring gains by the Asia afternoon at 157.805. A stronger currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers.
Thailand’s rubber production is forecast to rise 1.5 percent to about 4.9 million tons in 2026, as high prices stimulate tapping and the risk of leaf-fall disease eases, analysts at rubber information provider Qinrex said in a note.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 237.3 US cents per kg, down 2.1 percent as of 0705 GMT.