Tokyo rubber futures fell more than 1 percent on Monday as a sharp gain in the yen against the dollar prompted heavy selling, but strength in oil prices and concerns over supplies provided some support. The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery was trading down 2.4 yen or 0.8 percent at 303.9 yen a kg from Friday's close of 306.3 yen.
The August contract fell as far as 300.8 yen, but found support as it approached the psychologically key 300 yen level, which was also the 50-day moving average.
The dollar's slide deepened on Monday when it fell to a record low against a basket of currencies amid expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The yen hit a three-year high of 102.92 yen against the dollar on trading platform EBS. US crude futures edged down on Monday, with Nymex crude for April delivery falling 7 cents to $101.77 a barrel in Globex electronic trading.