Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended down 0.2 percent on Friday, as a stronger yen offset firm Shanghai futures, brokers said. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, remained well below a two-month high of 211.2 yen hit last week amid continued worries over global demand.

The dollar was on the defensive on Friday after wrangling over a bill to change the US tax code dented confidence. A stronger yen makes yen-denominated assets less affordable when purchased in other currencies. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery finished 0.5 yen lower at 204.8 yen ($1.83) per kg, falling from a one-week high hit a day earlier, and eking out the fourth straight weekly gain, of 0.3 percent.

Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 3.5 percent from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 175 yuan to finish at 14,415 yuan ($2,182) per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 144.70 US cents per kg, up 0.1 cent.

Copyright Reuters, 2017