Tokyo rubber futures fell 2.9 percent to their lowest in 3-1/2 months on Monday on stop-loss selling after prices broke below a major support of 270 yen, dealers said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for September delivery was down 7.1 yen to settle at 266.9 yen ($2.84) per kg. It fell as much as 7.9 yen, or 2.9 percent, to an intra-day low of 266.1 yen, the lowest since December 12.
“TOCOM sentiment turned bad when prices fell below the 270 level, which triggered heavy selling from both investment funds and small players,” said a Tokyo-based dealer. Dealers said weaker Shanghai rubber futures prices also weighed. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery was down 705 yuan to finish at 21,460 yuan ($3,500) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM futures exchange for May delivery was last traded at 264.5 US cents per kg, down 5.8 cents.
