Key Tokyo rubber futures erased earlier gains to settle slightly lower on Friday, as a slide in oil prices and sluggish stocks reflected concerns about the global economic outlook and raised questions about demand for raw materials. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for January delivery settled down 0.5 yen at 363.5 yen per kg, after rising as much as 6.9 yen or 1.9 percent to 370.9 yen per kg earlier in the day.
The market ended the week down about 5 percent, the biggest weekly loss in three months, as global financial markets plummeted earlier in the week on the downgrade of US debt and concerns over European sovereign debt problems spreading. Traders said the market may test the downside next week after finishing below a key technical level, its 50-day moving average, which stood at 377.1 yen on Friday. The most active rubber contract on the Shanghai commodity exchange for January delivery rose 125 yuan to close at 34,295 yuan ($5,363.203) per tonne on Friday. Volume stood at 580,486 lots.
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