Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures slipped to a 1-1/2-week low on Tuesday, weighed down by weaker oil prices and concerns over slowing car sales in top buyer China. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for May delivery finished 0.1 yen lower at 161.4 yen ($1.43) per kg.
The TOCOM benchmark, which sets the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, touched the lowest level since Nov. 30, of 158.2 yen earlier in the session. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 135 yuan to finish at 11,140 yuan ($1,621) per tonne.
TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for June delivery ended at 143.4 yen, unchanged from the previous day. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 123.2 US cents per kg, up 0.1 cent.
Oil prices were pressured amid worries over global stock markets and doubts that planned output cuts led by producer club OPEC will be enough to rein in oversupply. "The recent OPEC agreement was not good enough to bolster oil prices and that has put pressure on overall commodities including rubber," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.
Also on the downside, China's automobile sales fell about 14 percent year-over-year in November, marking the steepest such drop in nearly seven years in the world's largest auto market.
