TOCOM erases early losses on weak yen on Aug.14

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures erased early losses to end higher on Tuesday, helped by a weaker yen against the dollar.

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, traded lower in the morning, weighed down by sluggish Shanghai futures amid thin trading this week due to Japan's "obon" holidays when families get together to remember and honour their ancestors, analysts said.

The dollar was 0.05 percent higher at 110.79 yen, off a 1-1/2-month low of 110.10 touched on Monday, helped against the yen by rises in U.S. bond yields.

A weaker yen makes commodities denominated in the Japanese currency cheaper for holders of other currencies.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for January delivery finished 0.2 yen higher at 171.9 yen ($1.55) per kg, remaining below a three-week high hit last week.

"The global oversupply in rubber has been weighing heavily on major exporting nations in Southeast Asia," a Japanese trading source said.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 95 yuan to finish at 12,345 yuan ($1,794) per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery last traded unchanged at 134.40 U.S. cents per kg, trading near a five-week high hit last Wednesday.