Tokyo rubber down, Shanghai up

Key Tokyo rubber futures settled slightly lower on Tuesday amid a lack of fresh trading cues after the market had already factored in encouraging factors such as signs of improvement in the US economy and easing of the Greek debt crisis. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery settled down 1.6 yen, or 0.4 percent, at 376.4 yen per kg.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery rose to 33,765 yuan per tonne on Tuesday from Monday's 33,480 yuan. Volume stood at 607,720 lots. "The benchmark contract was unable to break the 380 yen line and will likely go back into range-bound trade between 340 and 380 yen," said Naoki Asami, chief broker at trading house Kanetsu. "The market needs fresh factors for a further rise and we are closely watching the direction of the Chinese economy."