Japanese rubber futures snap seven-day rally on profit booking

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for August delivery closed down 2.1 yen, or 0.56percent, at 375.5 yen (USD2.41) per kg. The contract, however, logged a weekly gain, having risen 5.36percent this week and 9percent for the month.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for May delivery fell 65 yuan, or 0.38percent, to 17,155 yuan (USD2,501.71) per metric ton. The most active April butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE fell 265 yuan, or 2.06percent, to 12,630 yuan per metric ton. Rubber prices climbed to a one-year high in the previous session due to dwindling supply, as rubber trees enter their wintering season from February to May.

Traders, hence, booked profits ahead of the weekend, a Singapore-based rubber trader said. Spot prices of rubber also declined on Friday, pressuring futures prices downward, according to a note on Chinese financial news site tonghuashun.

However, the commodity still logged monthly gains on the back of tightening supply and the recovery of demand after Lunar New Year. Thai rubber exports declined 19.3percent year-on-year in January, according to a report from Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce.

Oil prices climbed on Friday but stayed on track for a weekly decline after the United States and Iran extended nuclear talks, easing concerns about potential hostilities that could disrupt supply with OPEC+ likely to resume an output hike at its Sunday meeting.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for March delivery last traded at 199.8 US cents per kg, down 2.3percent as of 0700 GMT.