FUNDAMENTALS
The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery <0#2JRU:> was trading down 1.2 percent at 271.5 yen per kg as of 0028 GMT.
The TOCOM market touched a three-month low of 269.5 yen on March 18 after reaching 303.3 yen on March 11, the highest since Feb. 21.
The market is poised to end March about 7 percent lower and the quarter about 10 percent down.
Japan's factory output unexpectedly dipped in February and a fourth consecutive drop in core consumer prices underscored the challenges the central bank faces in engineering economic recovery and achieving its 2 percent inflation target.
Thailand, the world's biggest rubber producer and exporter, will continue cutting exports for another two months after a scheme agreed with Indonesia and Malaysia expires at the end of March, a senior government official said on Thursday.
China shares suffered their worst loss in nearly a month on Thursday, as Hong Kong closed out the first quarter on a tepid note, with banks sinking after Chinese regulators ordered more transparency on wealth management products.
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MARKET NEWS
The dollar traded at around 94.25 yen in early Asian trade on Friday, near a three-week low below 94 yen marked earlier this week.
Japan's Nikkei share average opened up 0.56 percent on Friday.
Crude futures rose on Thursday, the last session of the first quarter, in choppy trading with stronger Wall Street equities and a weaker dollar supporting dollar-denominated oil prices.
<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>