Japanese rubber futures retreat

SHANGHAI: Japanese rubber futures snapped two straight sessions of gains on Wednesday, as tapping picked up in top producers Thailand and the Ivory Coast and pressured spot prices.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for October delivery was down 6 yen, or 1.45percent, at 409.1 yen (USD2.57) per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery declined 155 yuan, or 0.88percent, to 17,540 yuan (USD2,575.40) per metric ton.

The most-active June butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE fell 280 yuan, or 1.78percent, to 15,475 yuan per ton. Rubber supply is set to improve with heavy rainfall in Thailand easing and the Ivory Coast about to enter its peak harvesting season next week, analysts say. Rubber crops usually undergo a season of low production from February to May, before a peak harvesting period that lasts until September.