Tokyo rubber futures barely budged on Wednesday as the market struggled to find direction, and some players said it was likely to move narrowly until next week's expiry of the spot contract. The benchmark April 2005 contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) settled up 0.1 yen per kg at 135.3 yen, just 0.1 yen below the session high of 135.4 yen. The day's trough was 134.5. Other months either rose by 0.3-0.4 yen or fell by 0.1 yen. The March 2005 contract finished flat.
The benchmark contract has wavered in a tight band straddling 135 yen after it plunged by roughly 1.8 percent last Friday to touch a low of 134.1 yen, the lowest since July 26.
"I don't anticipate much activity but there will be attention focused on what sort of position adjustments are made as the expiry date nears," a Tokyo-based broker said.
The prompt November contract will expire on November 24.
Wednesday's currency market also moved narrowly and provided few clues for TOCOM rubber.
The dollar was at 105.30/5.35 yen at 0645 GMT, compared with 105.36 yen in late US trade.
The currency hovered near seven-month lows against the yen ahead of a weekend meeting of the Group of 20, which is expected to discuss foreign exchange issues.
The group includes the Group of Seven developed countries as well as major developing nations including China.
TOCOM rubber also showed little reaction to crude prices, which edged lower ahead of US inventory data later on Wednesday.
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