Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures dropped on Thursday, pulling back from a two-week high hit the previous day, due to weaker oil prices and a higher yen as well as nagging worries about global oversupply. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been hovering between 190 and 220 yen so far this year amid concerns about a glut of supply and weak demand in top consumer China.
The TOCOM rubber contract for July delivery finished 2.9 yen lower at 199.3 yen ($2) per kg, after declining to as low as 198.1 yen. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 160 yuan to finish at 13,145 yuan ($2,104) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 138.2 US cents per kg, down 2.6 cents.