Tokyo, Shanghai rubber flat

Key Tokyo rubber futures were little changed on Tuesday, caught in narrow ranges as a weak Shanghai rubber market and rising supplies weighed on sentiment while investors lacked incentives to sell actively. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for November delivery settled at 377.6 yen per kg, nearly flat from Monday's settlement of 377.9 yen.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for September delivery was also nearly flat, closing on Tuesday at 33,310 yuan ($5,146.062) per tonne, compared with 33,290 yuan on Monday. It earlier fell as much as 1.6 percent on Tuesday.
Asian physical rubber prices were steady on Tuesday despite the prospect of rising supply in major producing countries as firm futures prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange provided support, dealers said. Concerns about global economic outlook and sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone have recently dampened investor sentiment, putting a cap on TOCOM rubber prices.