Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 1.7 percent on Friday, coming under pressure from a stronger yen and weak Shanghai futures amid concerns over rising stockpiles. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been getting little support from the ongoing curbs in exports by a group of three of the world's top natural rubber producers, as stockpiles in Japan climbed to a more than three-year high.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery finished 3.4 yen lower at 191.8 yen ($1.82) per kg. For the week, it gained 1.1 percent. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.1 percent from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 200 yuan to finish at 12,580 yuan ($1,989) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for April delivery last traded at 145.1 US cents per kg, down 1.4 cents. "Shanghai futures also face a similar situation as stocks pile up, in a trend that highlights slack demand," said a Japanese trading source. The dollar fell against the yen on Friday, after a report that US President Donald Trump would remove his national security adviser added to concerns about recent White House personnel changes and what that meant for policy.
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