Tokyo rubber futures ended lower on Thursday, retreating from an early gain of 1 percent because of what some saw as disappointing Chinese economic data, which led to falls in Shanghai rubber futures and spurred selling on TOCOM, dealers said. The negative effect of a Chinese interest rate rise this week was also still being felt, they said.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for March delivery fell 0.7 yen to settle at 334.5 yen ($4.12) per kg. The most active Shanghai rubber futures for March delivery fell 360 yuan to end at 31,170 yuan ($4,686) per tonne. Trading volume was 1.29 million lots. "Poor Chinese economic data and fears about the rate rise effect still lingered and spurred selling on rubber again," one dealer said.