Tokyo rubber futures fell to a four-month low on Monday, hurt as the increasing likelihood of a new election in Greece worsened the sense of crisis in the eurozone. The commodity was also still reeling after industrial production data last week from China, the world's biggest rubber user, came in weaker than expected.
"The likelihood of a new election in Greece and unexpectedly weak data from China last week made us rethink the rubber market, which has recently reflected investors' risk appetite," said a trader at a Japanese commodity brokerage. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for October delivery settled at 279.2 yen per kg, down 4.3 yen, or 1.5 yen, from the previous close. It earlier touched an intraday low of 276.1 yen, the lowest since January 16.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai rubber exchange for September delivery closed down 930 yuan at 24,860 yuan per tonne. The front-month June rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at 338.0 US cents per kg, down 6.4 cents.