SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday, and posted a second consecutive weekly loss, as the contract tracked waning physical prices in top producer Thailand.

The November Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract closed down 3 yen, or 0.9%, at 327.5 yen ($2.06) per kg to hit a four-session low. The contract lost 3.2% week-on-week. The September rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 165 yuan to finish at 14,900 yuan ($2,052.06) per metric ton.

Raw material prices in Thailand have dropped quite significantly, which quickly led to “some traders were recalibrating their positions” in the rubber market, said Farah Miller, CEO of Helixtap Technologies, an independent rubber-focused data company. Prices of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) plunged 8.1% this week, while block rubber lost 3.7%.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.08% to 159.05 against the dollar earlier in the session, the lowest since late April. A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers.

Japan’s core inflation accelerated in May due to energy levies, but an index that strips away the effect of fuel slowed for the ninth straight month.

Japan’s factory activity expanded for a second straight month in June, but the pace of growth eased as orders weakened and cost pressures intensified, a business survey showed.

JPMorgan Chase is seeing signs of an improving economy in China that will bolster the bank’s business in the country after a sluggish period, its CEO of asset and wealth management Mary Erdoes said. China is rubber’s top consumer.