Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell for a fourth straight session on Friday, as worries over excess supplies weighed on the market. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, stood 15 percent below the year-ago level despite producers' push to buoy prices in the past year.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery finished 0.1 yen lower at 193.7 yen ($1.77) per kg, falling from a near four-month high hit on Tuesday. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 30 yuan to finish at 11,875 yuan ($1,859) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 144.20 US cents per kg, down 0.6 cent. Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 17,009 tonnes as of May. 10, up 1.8 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Thursday.That compared with 4,070 tonnes a year earlier. "High inventories in Asia are weighing on market sentiment," said a Japanese trading source.