Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dipped for a third straight day on Wednesday, hitting their lowest in over two months, as rising inventories in Japan and China deepened concerns over excess supply in Asia, dealers said. "The recent increase in rubber stocks in Tokyo and Shanghai raised oversupply worries," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co, adding that weaker prices of oil and other commodities also hurt market sentiment.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.9 percent from the previous Friday, the exchange said on Friday. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for July delivery finished 2.6 yen, or 1.3 percent lower at 192.9 yen ($1.77) per kg after earlier touching 191.3 yen, its lowest since Nov. 22.
For the month, it registered a 6.7 percent decline in what marked its first monthly decline in three. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery plunged 465 yuan to finish at 13,120 yuan ($2,088) per tonne. It also touched the lowest since Nov. 21 of 12,880 yuan earlier in the session.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 144.0 US cents per kg, down 4.3 cent. Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 12,294 tonnes as of Jan. 10, up 0.2 percent from the last inventory date, according to data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan.
Oil prices fell for a third day on Wednesday after data from an industry body showed US crude stocks rose more than expected last week.
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