Tokyo rubber futures edged lower on Friday as weaker oil prices and poor US data drove players to liquidate contracts to avoid risks ahead of the weekend, dealers said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for December delivery fell 2.2 yen, or 0.8 percent, to settle at 245.3 yen ($3.12) per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery was down 230 yuan to finish at 23,855 yuan ($3,700) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at 291 US cents per kg, down 2.8 cents. "US jobs data was not so good, triggering concerns about falling demand in oil and other commodities," said a Bangkok-based dealer. The slowdown in the US economy persisted as factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region contracted in July for a third straight month and new claims for jobless aid surged.