TOCOM climbs on position adjustments ahead of Aug expiry

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures climbed in light trade on Thursday as investors made position adjustments ahead of the near-term contract's expiration.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished 0.8 yen higher at 216.6 yen ($1.98) per kg.

The TOCOM's August contract is due to expire on Friday.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 65 yuan to finish at 16,420 yuan ($2,465) per tonne.

"The TOCOM stayed in a narrow range as there were no fresh news," a Tokyo-based dealer said.

Oil was steady on Thursday, holding gains from the previous session after another fall in U.S. crude inventories indicated a tighter market, and as a tropical storm was heading for oil-producing facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

But Chinese nickel futures surged on Thursday to a near six-month high on the back of strong gains in overnight London Metal Exchange prices amid supply concerns and declining inventories.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a 3-1/2-month low on Thursday, dragged down by Wall Street losses, a stronger yen and steel makers after reports that the country's biggest producer was cutting prices.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 153.1 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.5 cent.

($1 = 109.3200 yen) ($1 = 6.6610 Chinese yuan)