Japanese rubber futures experienced their steepest weekly decline in over four months on Friday, driven by a broader tech sell-off in Tokyo equities. The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for April delivery dropped 9.2 yen, or 2.12 percent, settling at 424.1 yen (USD2.69) per kg. This marked the fourth consecutive week of losses, the longest streak since late June.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rubber contract for January delivery also fell 355 yuan, or 1.87 percent, to 18,585 yuan (USD2,786.65) per metric ton. In contrast, the December butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE rose 80 yuan, or 0.51 percent, to 15,735 yuan per metric ton.
A Singapore-based trader noted that rubber prices were likely influenced by sentiment in equity markets, with investors unwinding positions and adjusting for risk. The Japanese yen briefly hit a one-week high of 157.27 per dollar before easing to 157.805, which could make yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s rubber production is expected to increase by 1.5 percent to about 4.9 million tons in 2026, as high prices encourage tapping and the risk of leaf-fall disease diminishes, according to analysts at rubber information provider Qinrex. The front-month rubber contract on the Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 237.3 US cents per kg, down 2.1 percent as of 0705 GMT.