Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures inched higher on Wednesday, but lower oil prices and weak Shanghai capped gains. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for November delivery finished 0.3 yen ($0.0028) higher at 204.9 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for September delivery fell 155 yuan ($22.41) to finish at 12,190 yuan per tonne.

TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for December delivery closed down 0.4 yen at 165.3 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for July delivery last traded at 154.1 US cents per kg, down 0.8%. The US dollar was quoted around 108.28 yen, compared with around 108.5 yen on Tuesday afternoon.

Oil prices fell nearly 2% on Wednesday, weighed down by a weaker demand outlook and a rise in US crude inventories despite growing expectations of ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts. Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 0.35%.

Copyright Reuters, 2019