Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures shed early gains to end lower on Wednesday, hovering at a nearly 2-year low hit in the previous session, amid worries that escalating trade conflicts may hurt global economy and demand for rubber. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for February delivery finished 0.2 yen lower at 165.9 yen ($1.5) per kg, after hitting 167 yen earlier in the trade. It touched the lowest since October 4, 2016 at 164.1 yen on Tuesday.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 30 yuan to finish at 12,135 yuan ($1,771) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 132.3 US cents per kg, down 0.6 cent.
China and the United States plunged deeper into a trade war on Tuesday after Beijing added $60 billion of US products to its import tariff list in retaliation for President Donald Trump's planned levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. "Investors are concerned about negative impact from the global trade spat," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co. "Especially, there is a growing fear that rubber demand would drop if the United States adopts import tariffs on Japanese cars," he said.