Key Tokyo rubber futures fell nearly 3 percent on Friday, pulled down by a broader sell-off in markets on renewed concerns over the global financial system and the US economy. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for January delivery fell as far as 352.0 yen, down 10.2 yen, or 2.8 percent, its lowest since Aug. 9.
It settled at 352.3 yen per kg, down 9.9 yen, or 2.7 percent. The market posted a 2.6 percent weekly drop for its third weekly loss in a row, though the fall halved from a 5.2 percent decline the previous week. The technical outlook remained bearish, with the market staying well below the key 50-day moving average, which on Friday stood at 374.2 yen.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery fell 0.8 percent to close on Friday at 33,490 yuan ($5,242.889) per tonne. Volume slipped to 619,524 lots from Thursday's 670,662 lots. One worrying sign may be rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which rose 11.7 percent last week, according to the exchange.