Japan futures fall on weaker oil, muted pre-holiday tyre output in China

• Japanese rubber futures extended losses to a third session on Thursday, pressured by lower oil prices and a slowdown in tyre production in China ahead of a long holiday.

• The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for October delivery TRB1!, TRB1! was down 4.7 yen, or 1.54%, at 300.8 yen ($1.94) per kg as of 0211 GMT.

• The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery RSS31! was down 165 yuan, or 1.16%, at 14,050 yuan ($1,939.05) per metric ton.

• Oil prices eased in early trade as concerns about a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy amid prospects for delayed interest rate cuts outweighed worries over the risk of expanding conflict in the Middle East.

• Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.

• Some tyre manufacturers in China have decreased production to prepare for the upcoming May Day holidays, China-based Beite Futures said in a note.

• Dutch-based performance elastomers manufacturing firm Arlanxeo has started construction of a hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber plant in Changzhou, China amid growing demand for advanced synthetic rubber products both in the country and globally.

• Japan's benchmark Nikkei average NI225 opened 1.02% lower.

• The yen's slide to fresh 34-year lows is likely to force Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda to walk a delicate line in guiding monetary policy this week as he tries to maintain a calibrated path to exiting ultra-easy rates without upending the currency.

• The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for May delivery TF1! last traded at 159.4 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.6%.

($1 = 155.4400 yen)

($1 = 7.2458 yuan)