New benchmark Tokyo rubber futures tanked nearly 4 percent on Tuesday, hit by a flurry of sells after Shanghai and Tokyo stock markets plunged while crude oil prices took a renewed slide, driving investors to safety and boosting the safe-haven yen.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for July delivery finished at 158.3 yen ($1.34), down 6.2 yen, or 3.8 percent, from an opening price of 164.5 yen. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 195 yuan to finish at 10,155 yuan ($1,543.27) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 107.3 US cents per kg, down 2.7 cent.