Tokyo rubber futures slipped on stop-loss selling as players liquidated contracts to avoid risks and waited for a clear direction from the meeting of Group of 20 nations. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for July delivery dropped 1.1 yen to settle at 331.0 yen ($3.54) per kg on Thursday.
Last week, a fall in the yen against the US dollar helped the contract rise to 337.8 yen, the highest for any benchmark since late March 2012. "TOCOM prices lacked the momentum to break above 335 and that spurred stop losses. They waited to see how the yen could perform before taking any position," said a Bangkok-based dealer. The front-month March rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at 311.0 US cents per kg.