Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures extended declines for a fifth straight session and ended at a near 1½-month low on Thursday amid ongoing worries over economic growth after US President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on another US$200 billion in Chinese imports.
China will be forced to retaliate if the United States implements any new tariff measures, China's commerce ministry warned on Thursday, as the world's two biggest economies remain locked in an intensifying trade war.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, also came under pressure from the yen, which gained a tad against the dollar, making assets denominated in the Japanese unit less affordable when purchased in other currencies.
"A further deterioration in the trade dispute casts worries over rubber demand," said a Japanese trading source.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished 0.4 yen lower at 167.6 yen (US$1.51) per kg, the lowest settlement since July 26.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for January delivery rose 65 yuan, or 0.5%, to finish at 12,060 yuan (US$1,766) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 131.8 US cents per kg, down 0.1 cent.
(US$1 = 111.2700 yen)
(US$1 = 6.8304 Chinese yuan)
