Tokyo rubber futures fell on Friday on position adjustments as the key contract failed to hold above a key technical level, snapping an eight-day winning streak, traders said.
"It's about time that we saw some correction as the market has been rising consistently despite very few reasons to buy," said a trader at a Japanese brokerage.
The benchmark August rubber futures contract closed down 1.8 yen per kg at 157.4 yen. It briefly climbed above the chart-sensitive level of 160 yen but ran out of steam in the afternoon.
Other contracts were down 1.7 to 2.7 yen. The market also shrugged off bullish domestic tyre figures, traders said.
The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers' Association said on Friday the amount of rubber used to make tyres in Japan rose 0.3 percent in January from a year to 92,664 tonnes. Rubber demand rose on solid tyre exports and strong domestic truck sales, an official at the association said.
Turnover in TOCOM rubber was estimated at 14,524 lots, down from 15,240 contracts on Thursday.