Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures edged lower on Thursday, tracking weakness in Shanghai futures. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for February delivery finished 0.5 yen ($0.0046) lower at 169.8 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 125 yuan ($17.60) to finish at 11,815 yuan per tonne. China's new technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last down 70 yuan at 10,105 yuan per tonne.
TOCOM's TSR 20 futures contract for March delivery closed at 153.9 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 133 US cents per kg, down 0.7%. The US dollar was quoted around 108.06 yen, compared with around 108.44 yen on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher in Asian trade after days of turbulence, with markets soothed by Saudi Arabia's pledge to restore full production by end-September at facilities knocked out in drone and missile attacks last weekend. Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 0.38%.