SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures declined for a fifth consecutive session to touch a two-month low on Tuesday, as traders maintained a cautious stance amid disappointing economic data from the world’s third-largest economy.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for May delivery was down 5 yen, or 2.02%, at 242.7 yen ($1.65) per kg at closing. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange (SHFE) for May delivery fell to a three-month low and was down 250 yuan, or 1.9%, at 13,260 yuan ($1,855.48) per metric ton.

Core consumer inflation in Tokyo, considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends, hit 2.3% in November, slowing from the previous month in a sign of easing cost-push pressure.

The country’s service activity expanded at the slowest pace in a year in November, weighed down by an accelerating decline in new exports and softer demand, however, the outlook for the sector remained upbeat, a business survey showed on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the greenback held broadly steady and pushed away from Monday’s three-month low against the yen. The dollar last traded at 147.10 yen. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average closed 1.37% lower. China’s services activity expanded at a quicker pace in November, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday, as the upturn in new businesses were the best seen for three months amid reports of firmer market conditions.

Asian stocks slipped to three-week lows and Hong Kong’s unloved Hang Seng index slumped to a one-year trough on Tuesday while bonds and the dollar steadied as investors tempered expectations for cuts to US interest rates and waited on US jobs data.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 140.3 US cents per kg, down 1.5%.