Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dropped on Thursday, following a plunge in a near-term contract and weaker oil prices, while lingering worries over slowing global economic growth weighed on market sentiment, dealers said. Oil prices declined after a surprise build in US crude inventories.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for June delivery finished 2.4 yen, or 1.3 percent, lower at 181.3 yen ($1.65) per kg. TOCOM's January contact, which has rallied in recent weeks, extended its losses into a second session, tumbling 5.4 percent ahead of its expiration on Friday.
"Some investors were selling on fears that the recent rise in TOCOM prices may attract more shipments from Thailand to Japan, while others were buying on speculations that top producing countries may come up with some measures to help shore up prices," a Tokyo-based dealer said. "Technically speaking, all eyes are on whether the benchmark could hold a key 180 yen mark," he added.
TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for July delivery fell 0.8 percent to close at 152.4 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery ended steady at 11,610 yuan ($1,710) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 132.9 US cents per kg, down 0.1 percent.