TOCOM tumbles to near 7-wk closing low on Feb.23

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures tumbled more than five percent on Thursday, extending losses into a 7th straight session and hitting a near 7-week closing low, as plunging Shanghai futures in late trade prompted a flurry of selling in Tokyo near the close.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange's (TOCOM) new rubber contract for August delivery slid 14.9 yen, or 5.2 percent, from an opening price of 284.3 yen to finish at 269.4 yen ($2.38) per kg., the lowest closing since Jan. 6.

The benchmark fell for a seventh session in a row, the longest losing streak since September 2014, with the declines over the past seven days totalling about 17 percent, also as supply concerns following the Thai floods continued to ease.

"Shanghai market took a beating in late trade amid rising inventories in both Shanghai and Qingdao, also sparking selling in Tokyo," said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery slid 1,250 yuan to finish at 18,690 yuan ($2,718) per tonne, after touching a low of 18,565 yuan, the lowest since Jan. 9.

Market sentiment has soured after Shanghai dropped to below the key 20,000-yuan mark, dealers said.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 205.1 U.S. cents per kg, down 10.8 cent.