Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell to a two-week low in lacklustre trade on Tuesday as weaker oil prices and sliding Shanghai futures eroded risk appetite. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished 3.0 yen, or 1.9 percent, lower at 152.1 yen ($1.52) per kg, after touching its lowest since August 10 at 151.8 yen.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery plunged 320 yuan to finish at 12,530 yuan ($1,886.31) per tonne. "I suspect selling from some overseas funds was also behind the TOCOM drop," said Jiong Gu, an analyst with Yutaka Shoji Co, adding that the market had no clear direction with low volatility. "TOCOM will likely remain in the recent trading range of between 150 and 160 yen through the middle of September before heading higher." The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 127.8 US cents per kg, down 1.6 cents.