Dec 9 (Reuters) - Benchmark TOCOM and Shanghai rubberfutures dropped over 3 percent in early trade on Tuesday, pressured as oil prices plunged to multi-year lows.
FUNDAMENTALS
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery had fallen 5.7 yen to 195.0 yen per kg by 0110 GMT. It earlier touched its lowest since Nov. 6 at 194.5 yen.
* The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai FuturesExchange for May delivery was down 570 yuan, or 4.6 percent, at 11,935 yuan per tonne.
* Thailand's government has sold 200,000 tonnes of rubber to China's Hainan Rubber Industry Group, Deputy Agriculture Minister Amnuay Patisse told Reuters on Monday, marking a second large sale to the Chinese group in two months.
* Thailand is the world's top rubber exporter, and was struggling to ship bulging stockpiles of the commodity until Hainan stepped in to snap up 208,000 tonnes in a deal in November.
* China's State Reserves Bureau is to buy 128,500 tonnes of rubber for its stockpiles, an industry report said, but market participants doubt the move by the world's top consumer of the material would offer much support to prices near five-year lows.
* Thai farmers plan protests to force the military government to provide more support for rubber prices and will take to the streets this week in defiance of martial law, a spokesman for farmers' groups said on Monday.
* For the top stories in the rubber market and other news, click orMARKET NEWS* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 120.94 yen early on Tuesday, down from multi-year peaks of 121.86.
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average dropped 0.4 percent.
* U.S. crude futures fell to the lowest in more than five years on Tuesday, extending a 4-percent slide in the previous session on expectations that a deepening oil glut would keep prices under pressure next year.
