* Japanese rubber futures fell on Monday, tracking losses in
the
Shanghai market amid an increase in inventory stockpiles, while
weaker domestic equities added pressure.
* The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for July delivery was down 1.6 yen, or 0.7%, at 220.7 yen ($1.64) per kg
as of 0200 GMT.
* The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange
(SHFE) for
May delivery was down 55 yuan, or 0.4%, at 12,485 yuan
($1,817) per tonne.
* The benchmark SHFE contract hit its lowest since Nov. 8 at
12,345 yuan per tonne earlier in the session.
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average opened down
0.06%.
* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai
Futures Exchange rose 1.0% from a week earlier, the exchange
said on Friday.
* Rubber markets are waiting for signs of a demand pick-up
in top
buyer China after the country lifted its strict COVID curbs at
the end of 2022.
* Oil prices were little changed in early Asian trade, after
settling down $2 a barrel on Friday, as rising supplies in the
United States and forecasts of more interest rate hikes cooled
optimism over China's demand recovery.
* The natural rubber market is hindered by weaker oil prices
as
manufacturers are disincentivised from shifting away from
synthetic rubber that is derived from oil, driving natural
rubber prices lower.
* Asian shares got off to a subdued start, as a U.S. holiday
made
for slow trading ahead of minutes of the last Federal Reserve
meeting and a reading on core inflation that could add to the
risk of interest rates heading higher for longer.
* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's
SICOM
platform for March delivery last traded at 137.8 U.S.
cents per kg, up 0.3%.
($1 = 134.4500 yen)
($1 = 6.8714 yuan)
(Reporting by Matthew Chye; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
