Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures slid more than 2 percent on Thursday as trade tension between China and the United States further escalated. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for October delivery finished 4.0 yen ($0.0365) lower at 184.1 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 65 yuan ($9.55) to finish at 11,790 yuan per tonne.
TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for November delivery closed down 2.4 percent at 160.3 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 148.7 US cents per kg, down 0.7 percent. The United States said it will raise tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports effective Friday. China has announced it will retaliate if tariffs rise.
The US dollar was quoted around 109.7 yen, compared with around 110.1 yen on Wednesday afternoon. Oil prices dropped on Thursday amid concerns over the escalating trade battle between the United States and China, despite a surprise fall in US crude stockpiles. Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 0.93 percent.
