Tokyo rubber futures mostly fell on Friday as the yen's strength against the dollar weighed on sentiment, although some losses were recouped after oil prices staged a modest recovery. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for March delivery, which debuted on Friday, was at 197.4 yen per kg. The other five contracts fell, with declines ranging from 0.3 yen to 1.9 yen.
The September rubber futures contract expired on Thursday at 190 yen per kg, down 6 yen from Friday, with 124 lots or 620 tonnes of deliveries. Physical rubber prices came under pressure from the decline in Tokyo futures prices, but demand from Asian traders helped keep prices steady. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 7 percent in the week ended Thursday, the exchange said on Friday.