Rubber slides to 2-1/2-week low on June 24

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures slid to a 2-1/2-week low on Monday due to position adjustments, but all eyes were on meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at this week's G20 summit for any signs of a thaw in US-China relations. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for November delivery finished 1.8 yen lower at 198.0 yen ($1.84) per kg, after hitting the lowest since June 6 of 195.6 yen earlier in the session.

"Investors were unwinding long positions ahead of an expiration of June contract today," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co. "The market's biggest interest is fresh negotiations between US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping about a US-China trade deal," he added.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery sank 155 yuan to finish at 11,600 yuan ($1,686) per tonne. TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for December delivery closed down 2.1 yen at 157.4 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 146.2 US cents per kg, down 1.1%.

Both China and the United States should make compromises in trade talks, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Monday, ahead of a much anticipated meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at this week's G20 summit in Japan.