Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures inched down on Thursday, hurt by a stronger yen and a fall in Japanese equities. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for March delivery finished 0.2 yen lower at 171.8 yen per kg, marking a second straight day of losses. "With Japan equities down and a stronger yen, buying momentum fizzled," a source with a Tokyo-based dealer said.
Shanghai futures jumped more than 3 percent at the open after a week-long holidays in China, playing catch-up with a 4 percent gain in benchmark TOCOM futures during that time, but the contract has lost some upward momentum hurt by weak TOCOM, the source with the Tokyo dealer said. Futures for January delivery, the most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange, rose 210 yuan to finish at 11,510 yuan per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange last traded at 124.8 US cents per kg, down 0.7 cent.