Tokyo rubber futures slump

Key Tokyo rubber futures slumped nearly 4 percent on Tuesday, tracking other commodities lower after Goldman Sachs advised its clients to lock in commodity trading profits. Risk aversion may also have accelerated after Japanese authorities upgraded the nuclear crisis to the same level with Chernobyl and after several strong aftershocks hit eastern Japan, traders said.
Japan put its nuclear calamity on par with the world's worst nuclear disaster, Chernobyl, on Tuesday after new data showed that more radiation had leaked from its earthquake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant in the early days of the crisis than first thought. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery tumbled 16.1 yen or 3.4 percent to settle at 459.1 yen per kg, after falling as low as 457.2 yen or down 3.8 percent. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for September delivery fell 610 yuan to close at 36,455 yuan ($5,576) per tonne. Volume stood at 495,298 lots.