TOCOM recovers from one-week low as yen weakens

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures edged up from a one-week low hit earlier as the dollar recovered from a 4-1/2 month low against the yen as investors' worries over North Korea's latest missile test eased, brokers said.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished 0.6 yen higher at 216.1 yen ($1.97) per kg after hitting 214.6 yen in the night session, the lowest since Aug. 23.

A weaker yen makes yen-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 80 yuan to finish at 16,395 yuan ($2,488) per tonne.

China's Commerce Ministry said it had launched anti-dumping investigations into hydrogenated butyl rubber from the United Sates, the European Union and Singapore.

Producers from the three regions have been selling rubber at a discount to appropriate prices, hurting margins and sales prices in China's domestic industry, the commerce ministry said.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded at 154.4 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.1 cent. ($1 = 109.8500 yen) ($1 = 6.5896 Chinese yuan renminbi)