TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Key Tokyo rubber futures fell more
than 7 percent on Thursday to close slightly above 170 yen as
weaker crude oil prices and a stronger yen encouraged investors
to step up selling of the industrial commodity.

 * The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April
delivery <0#JRU:> closed down 10.1 yen at 171.3 yen per kg, up a
touch from an intra-day low of 168 yen. That was a decline of
13.4 yen or 7.4 percent from Wednesday.

 * A Tokyo analyst said there was little news to cheer the
market, with fears about consumption stoked by news of the poor
performance of major automakers in Japan and the United States.

 * "You've got worrying news about the Big Three in the United
States and Toyota in Japan ... and this makes you wonder about
where demand is going," he said.

 * Lawmakers plan to question chief executives of General
Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Ford Motor

Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chrysler LLC on their
pleas for an industry bailout.  [ID:nN12305540]

 * In more news to depress the market, Chinese annual
industrial output growth slowed to 8.2 percent in October, the
weakest reading since late 2001, as manufacturers struggled with
a drop in export demand and weakness in the domestic property
market. [ID:nPEK202621]

 * Physical rubber traders have noted an absence from the
market of buyers from China, traditionally the top consumer of
the industrial commodity used to produce tyres.

 * U.S. crude oil fell on Thursday to hit a 22-month low of
close to $55 a barrel as mounting pessimism about the global
economy outweighed OPEC's comments that it could cut output again
as early as the end of November. [O/R]

 * In New York trade, the dollar fell to 94.49 yen, the lowest
since Oct. 28 according to Reuters data. [USD/]

 * India's rubber product export growth may come down to 3-4
percent in FY09, from 10 percent a year earlier, on cancelled
orders as the financial turmoil trimmed demand for tyres, a top
industry official said on Wednesday. [ID:nBOM405891]

 * Rain in Thailand, the world's top rubber producer, has
raised concerns about supply tightness, helping to support
physical prices of the industrial commodity.

 PRICES OF ASIAN PHYSICAL RUBBER COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY

 Grade                                Price        Change

 Thai RSS3 (Dec)                     $1.90/kg      unchanged

 Thai RSS3 (Jan)                     $1.90/kg      unchanged

 Thai STR20 (Dec)                    $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Thai STR20 (Jan)                    $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Malaysia SMR20 (Dec)                $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Malaysia SMR20 (Jan)                $1.85/kg      unchanged

 Indonesia SIR20 (Dec)               $0.84/lb      +$0.02

 Indonesia SIR20 (Jan)               $0.84/lb      +$0.02

 Thai USS3                           62 baht/kg    + 3 baht

 Thai 60-percent latex (drums, Dec)  $1,500/tonne  unchanged

 Thai 60-percent latex (bulk, Dec)   $1,350/tonne  unchanged

Source:  Reuters

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