Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures slipped for a fourth straight session on Friday amid oversupply concerns and as investors unwound long positions for near-term contracts, leading to a second weekly decline. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for January delivery finished down 2.4 yen, or 1.4%, at 165.8 yen ($1.56) per kg. For the week, it marked a loss of 1.8%.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery dropped 15 yuan to finish at 11,385 yuan ($1,608) per tonne. China's new technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last down 60 yuan at 9,815 yuan per tonne. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.3% from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
TOCOM's TSR 20 futures contract for February delivery closed flat at 145.4 yen per kg, remaining at the same level for a sixth straight session. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 128 US cents per kg, down 0.9%.