Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell nearly two percent on Tuesday, erasing gains earlier in the day that boosted it to a 10-day high, as some speculators suddenly unwound long positions in Shanghai futures, which also triggered a selloff in Tokyo.
"Some speculators placed large sell orders at Shanghai in a late morning trade, quickly followed by big chunk of sell orders at the TOCOM," a Tokyo-based dealer said.
"There were not any fundamental reasons to sell. It was more to do with their position adjustments," he added.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished 2.9 yen, or 1.9 percent, lower at 153.4 yen ($1.50) per kg.
Earlier, the benchmark hit a high of 157.6 yen, the highest since July 29.
The TOCOM futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, dropped to as low as 151.3 yen before regaining some ground in the afternoon.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery dipped 225 yuan to finish at 12,615 yuan ($1,893.69) per tonne.
"Since the TOCOM benchmark did not fall below 150 yen, I expect the market to head higher again and move toward 170 yen in the coming month," the dealer said.
Singapore's SICOM exchange was closed on Tuesday for the National Day holiday.
