Tokyo rubber futures fell about 1 percent on Tuesday after the Nikkei slipped in volatile trade and investors stayed on the sidelines, watching for clues to see if the US Federal Reserve would scale back its stimulus. The most active November contract on Tokyo Commodity Exchange settled 2.4 yen a kg lower at 236.5 yen. The contract plunged to a nine-month low of 230.5 yen last week because of a rising Japanese currency.
"Everything is unclear until after the Fed meeting. But maybe Bernanke will say they will scale back the programme only at the end of this year," said a dealer in Tokyo, referring to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. "I just don't believe they will do it quickly." The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery was last traded at 18,190 yuan per tonne, slightly higher than 18,170 yuan at the previous close. The front-month July contract on Singapore's SICOM Exchange was last traded at 231.00 US cents per kg, down 2.30 cents.