* Japanese rubber futures edged lower on Wednesday, after a
brief
bounce earlier in the session, as traders remained tense about
the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate
decision.
* The Osaka Exchange's rubber contract for August delivery finished 0.6 yen, or 0.3%, lower at 204.4 yen ($1.54)
per kg.
* The benchmark contract hit its lowest level since
September
2021.
* The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for
May
delivery rose 25 yuan to finish at 11,700 yuan
($1,698.83) per tonne.
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei average closed 1.93%
higher.
* Jitters surrounding the banking crisis have waned
but
the market remains careful, given its previous over-optimism
about China's reopening, said a Singapore-based trader.
* "Traders are being very cautious with trades now and dare not enter," he said, adding that while they would ideally like to enter the market when it's low, they also fear that prices would fall too far.
* Oil fell in Asian trade on Wednesday morning, paring two
straight days of gains after an industry report showed U.S.
crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week, indicating that
fuel demand could be weakening.
* Lower oil prices incentivise manufacturers to shift to
synthetic
rubber derived from oil, hindering the natural rubber market.
* Asian shares staged a cautious bounce on Wednesday with
hopes
that a global banking crisis would be averted vying with
uncertainty over the outlook for U.S. interest rates as the
Federal Reserve holds a high-stakes meeting on policy.
* The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's
SICOM
platform for April delivery last traded at 130.2 U.S.
cents per kg, down 0.40%.
($1 = 132.4300 yen)
($1 = 6.8871 yuan)
(Reporting by Carman Chew; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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