SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures fell on Thursday, tracking weaker crude oil and physical rubber prices.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for December delivery closed down 1.2 yen or 0.36%, at 330.2 yen ($2.05) per kg. The September rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 135 yuan to 14,910 yuan ($2,050.78) per metric ton.

Oil prices fell in Asia on Thursday, with investors turning cautious on expectations of lower demand as US employment and business data came in weaker than forecast, signalling the economy of the world’s top oil consumer may be cooling.

Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil. The price of Thailand’s benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3 fell by 2.0% to 73.85 Thai baht ($2.02) per kg on a free-on-board basis.

The yen edged up 0.12% to 161.53, helped by the dollar’s drop after US economic data continued to point to slowing growth. * A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers. China’s BYD, opened an electric vehicle plant in Thailand on Thursday, the automaker’s first factory in Southeast Asia, a fast-growing regional EV market where it has become the dominant player.