Japan rubber futures slide

TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures slid from a one-week high on Monday in light trade, as weaker oil prices dented investors’ risk appetite.

Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for September delivery finished 0.8 yen lower at 250.7 yen ($2.3) per kg. It rose as much as 253.7 yen, a 1-week high, earlier in the session. “The dollar’s recent rally amid hopes for a healthy economic recovery in the United States should provide support to rubber prices in Japan and China, but the recent slump in Shanghai futures is weighing on market sentiment,” a Tokyo-based dealer said.

China’s commodity futures markets were closed on Monday for the Qingming festival. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.5%. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 165.0 US cents per kg, up 0.9%.