Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures snapped a three-day winning streak on Wednesday as investors locked in profits after the recent rally on the back of oil prices. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been recovering from this year's low hit late-September, though trade frictions between the United States and China have spurred worries over rubber consumption especially China.
"There are concerns of violent fluctuations in rubber prices amid US-China trade issues," said a Japanese brokerage source.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery
finished 2.9 yen lower at 169.5 yen
($1.49) per kg. The contract touched a one-month high of 174.2 yen in the previous session.
China's financial markets are closed this week for the National Day holiday.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery also fell from a near two-week high hit a day earlier and last traded at 133.1 US cents per kg, down 0.9 cent.