TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures fell on Tuesday on concerns that surging oil prices amid rising tensions in the Middle East would hurt global economy and consumption for the material while growing COVID-19 cases in Japan prompted selling. Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for June delivery finished 0.7 yen, or 0.3%, lower at 242.2 yen ($2.1) per kg.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 65 yuan to finish at 14,840 yuan ($2,337) per tonne. “Soaring oil prices fuelled concerns that higher inflation may dent global economic recovery and reduce demand for commodities including rubber,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

Oil prices rose more than $1 on Tuesday to a more than seven-year high on worries about possible supply disruptions after Yemen’s Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates.

Japan’s new COVID-19 cases jumped to a record on Tuesday, local media reported, as the government considered expanding measures to contain the infectious Omicron coronavirus variant. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for February delivery last traded at 179.3 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.1%.