Tokyo rubber futures fall

Singapore  (december 16, 2010) : the most active rubber contract on the tokyo commodity exchange slipped on wednesday on weaker oil prices and a slowdown in activity in the physical market. tocom's may rubber contract ended 2.4 yen a kg lower at 393.7 yen, having hit another record at 400.1 yen a kg on tuesday on worries about tight supply in main producing countries.
the physical market was deserted, with both sellers and buyers on the sidelines because of volatile futures. tyre grade is at record levels in southeast asia. the most active may shanghai rubber futures , which tracked tokyo futures, ended at 34,735 yuan a tonne, down from tuesday's close of 35,535 yuan.
italian carmaker fiat will invest 3 billion reais ($1.77 billion) to open a car factory in brazil's state of pernambuco capable of producing 200,000 vehicles a year. china imported 1.68 million tonnes of natural rubber from january to november 2010, an increase of 9.9 percent from the same period last year, according to preliminary data.

(Source: http://www.brecorder.com/news/agriculture-and-allied/world/1134742:tokyo-rubber-futures-fall.html?hl=rubber)