TOCOM ends at 1-week low as weak Shanghai weighs

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures fell to close at a one-week low on Thursday, taking cues from a weak Shanghai market and lower oil prices, brokers said.

Domestic rubber stockpiles continued to decline, but gave little support to theTokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia.

Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 3,923 tonnes as of April 20, down 7.6 percent from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Thursday.

Oil prices dipped on Thursday, weighed down by a general sentiment of globally bloated markets, though traders said that prices seemed to have found support around current levels.

"TOCOM came under pressure again from Shanghai futures," said a Tokyo-based broker.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery ended down 3.8 yen at a one-week settlement low of 215 yen ($1.93) per kg.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 85 yuan to finish at 14,610 yuan ($2,119) per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for May delivery last traded at 155 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.4 cent. ($1 = 111.2800 yen) ($1 = 6.8941 Chinese yuan)