TOCOM settles near 22-month low amid trade war fears on Aug. 17

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended flat in thin trade on Friday, posting a weekly loss and settling near a 22-month low hit in the previous session, amid lingering worries over the Sino-US trade spat and bearish sentiment in commodities.

Trading activity was subdued towards the weekend as the market adopted a wait-and-watch approach ahead of US-China trade talks later in the month and as many traders and dealers were away for summer holidays.

"But since the talks won't be held at the top level, investors remained cautious and the market was under pressure," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished at 168.0 yen (US$1.52) per kg, unchanged from the previous day, after giving up earlier gains from short-covering.

The TOCOM contract, which sets the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, fell 2.5% for the week.

Volumes in TOCOM rubber futures stood at 1,807 on Friday.

"Weakness in the broader commodity markets also hurt sentiment in TOCOM," he said.

London copper slid 1% on Friday, declining for a fifth session in six and was set for its biggest weekly decline since early July.

Oil prices fell on Friday, with US crude heading for a seventh weekly decline amid increasing concerns about slowing global economic growth that could hit demand for petroleum products.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 200 yuan to finish at 11,725 yuan (US$1,704) per tonne.

Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.8% from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SITCOM exchange for September delivery was last traded at 133.1 US cents per kg, down 0.7 cent.

The death toll in the southern Indian state of Ferula's worst floods in a century has risen to 79, a government official said, with climbing water levels likely to impact rubber and other plantations in the region.

(US$1 = 6.8797 Chinese yuan termini)

(US$1 = 110.6000 yen)