* The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for January delivery

finished 3.1 yen, or 1.7%, lower at 177.9 yen ($1.64) per kg.

* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery dropped 20 yuan to finish at 10,635 yuan ($1,545) per tonne.

* Under an agreement by the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), rubber producers Indonesia and Malaysia started curbing exports from April 1 for 4 months. Thailand, the world's top rubber exporter, delayed its move, but began cutting exports from May 20.

* "The TOCOM was weighed down by concerns that Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to increase export from next month," said Hideshi Matsunaga, analyst at Sunward Trading.

* "But the three countries may agree to extend export curb next month when they plan to meet as rubber prices are back to the levels before they started reducing exports," he said.

* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 108.54 yen, compared with around 108.60 yen on Monday afternoon

* Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Tuesday on optimism the U.S. Federal Reserve will this week cut interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years, supporting fuel demand growth in the world's biggest oil user.

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average advanced on Tuesday, led by technology firms, as investors looked beyond sluggish earnings in the previous quarter and bet on a potential recovery over the coming seasons.

* TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for January delivery closed unchanged at  153.3 yen per kg, remaining at the same level for a sixth straight day. Sunward's Matsunaga said there has been a lack of interest in trading the TSR.

* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 135.4 U.S. cents per kg, down 2.1%.