Key Tokyo rubber futures eased in range-bound trade on Wednesday as investors lacked clues on market direction, with a rise in oil prices lending support while a firmer yen hurt sentiment. Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures for October delivery settled down 3.3 yen, or 0.9 percent, at 378.1 yen per kg.
While the benchmark has ended above a key technical level for two straight sessions, traders remained cautious about market direction, which has been influenced by moves in other commodity markets. They also said expected supplies from producing countries were likely to weigh on prices. The most active Shanghai rubber futures contract for September delivery closed down 250 yuan, or 0.8 percent, at 31,320 yuan ($4,814.197) per tonne on Wednesday. Volume fell to 1.1 million lots from Tuesday's 1.4 million lots.