TOCOM extends fall on ample stocks; hits near 2-month low

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures extended declines on Monday, hitting their lowest in nearly two months, weighed by ample inventories in Asia.

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been also coming under pressure from the ramp up of rubber production in main producing countries in Southeast Asia following a seasonal drop.

Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 17,009 tonnes as of May 10, more than four times the year-ago level of 4,070 tonnes, according to data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan.

"The built-up inventories are set to hurt rubber prices," said a Japanese trading source.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery finished 1.2 yen lower at 184.9 yen (US$1.68) per kg after touching 184.3 yen earlier, the lowest intraday level since April 19.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 120 yuan to finish at 11,400 yuan per tonne.

Indonesia's motorcycle sales rose 10.9% in May from a year earlier to 589,304 units, industry association figures showed on Monday.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 140.6 US cents per kg, down 0.5 cent.

(US$1 = 110.0200 yen)