Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended steady on Thursday as support on the back of a weaker yen against the dollar was offset by sluggish oil prices. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, on Wednesday hit a one-month high on bullish oil prices amid concerns about dwindling supplies from Iran but have been unable to gain further amid concerns about U.S-China trade frictions.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery finished unchanged at 169.5 yen ($1.48) per kg. Inventories of ribbed smoked sheet (RSS) rubber at warehouses in and around Tokyo monitored by TOCOM fell by 372 tonnes to 10,160 tonnes as of Sept. 20, from 10 days earlier, the exchange said on Thursday.
On Oct. 9, TOCOM will launch new technically specified rubber (TSR) futures to meet growing demand for the product. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 133.2 US cents per kg, down 0.2 cent.