Tokyo rubber futures lower

Tokyo rubber futures ended lower on Tuesday, weighed down by easing oil prices and a weaker economic outlook in Asia, dealers said on Tuesday. However, trading was thin and helped prevent prices from falling sharply, with support above the 230-yen level, they said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for December delivery dropped 3.8 yen to settle at 234.6 yen ($2.35) per kg.
Trading volume was thin, with only 6,046 lots changing hands, well below the daily average of more than 10,000 lots, dealers said. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was up 140 yuan to finish at 17,625 yuan ($2,900)per tonne. The front-month August rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at 217.0 US cents per lb, up 0.8 cent.