Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell further on Tuesday, tracking losses in Shanghai futures and on worries about a slowing global economic growth. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, slid to a three-week low in early trade. “There was no news about fundamentals,” said Cao Lu, a senior analyst with Orient Futures.
“Commodity futures in general fell overnight. Rubber futures, with weak fundamentals, dropped quite significantly,” Cao said. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for July delivery finished 3.8 yen ($0.0348) lower at 176.9 yen per kg. TOCOM’s technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for July delivery fell 3.8 yen to close at 150.2 yen per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 210 yuan ($31.21) to finish at 11,460 yuan per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 129.7 US cents per kg, down 1.5 cents.